Absorbent articles having texture zones forming background patterns and macro patterns

ABSTRACT

An absorbent article comprises first and second substrates and one or more elastic elements disposed at least partially intermediate the substrates. The second substrate is attached to the first substrate and/or to portions of the elastic elements. The absorbent article comprises an adhesive having a first and second pattern of elements disposed on first substrate, and first and second texture zones. The first texture zone comprises a first portion of the substrates, a first portion of the elastic elements, and the first pattern of elements of the adhesive and forms a background pattern in the first portion of the substrates. The second texture zone comprises a second portion of the substrates, a second portion of the one or more elastic elements, and the second pattern of elements of the adhesive and forms a macro pattern in the second portion of the substrates.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional PatentApplication Nos. 61/647,061, 61/647,071, and 61/647,078, all filed onMay 15, 2012, and all of which are incorporated by reference herein intheir entirety.

FIELD

The present disclosure generally relates to absorbent articles havingtexture zones forming patterns, and more particularly, relates toabsorbent articles having texture zones forming background patterns andmacro patterns.

BACKGROUND

Infants, children, and other incontinent individuals wear disposableabsorbent articles, such as diapers, to receive and contain urine andother body exudates. Tape diapers are popular for infants and youngchildren, while training pants or pull-on diapers have become popularfor use on older children (e.g., 3-5 year olds) or other incontinentindividuals able to walk and often who are toilet training. Variousdisposable absorbent articles comprise some type of texture or printedgraphics on a portion of a garment-facing surface or backsheet or awearer-facing surface or topsheet thereof for aesthetic purposes. Thetextures are usually irregular and generally do not provide anaesthetically pleasing appearance, fit, and comfortable feel.Furthermore, these textures typically appear throughout a garment-facingsurface or backsheet or a wearer-facing surface or topsheet of theabsorbent articles. Additionally, usually only one texture is providedby using additional material(s). It would be desirable to provideabsorbent articles that provide an improved fit and comfortable feel,have an aesthetically pleasing appearance, and more closely resembleclothing or underwear without adding cost, or significant cost, toabsorbent article manufacturing.

SUMMARY

In one form, the present disclosure is directed, in part, to anabsorbent article comprising a chassis comprising a topsheet, abacksheet, and a core disposed intermediate the topsheet and thebacksheet. The absorbent article comprises a belt portion extending fromthe chassis. The belt portion comprises a first substrate, a secondsubstrate, and one or more elastic elements disposed at least partiallyintermediate the first substrate and the second substrate. Portions ofthe elastic elements are joined to the first substrate and the secondsubstrate is joined to the first substrate and/or to portions of theelastic elements. The absorbent article comprises a first texture zonecomprising a plurality of rugosities formed in the first substrate. Theplurality of the rugosities have a first frequency range. The firsttexture zone forms a background pattern in the belt portion. Theabsorbent article comprises a second texture zone comprising a pluralityof rugosities formed in the first substrate. The plurality of therugosities have a second, different frequency range. The second texturezone forms a macro pattern in the belt portion.

In another form, the present disclosure is directed, in part, to anabsorbent article comprising a core, a first substrate, a secondsubstrate, and one or more elastic elements disposed at least partiallyintermediate the first substrate and the second substrate. The secondsubstrate is attached to the first substrate and/or portions of one ormore of the elastic elements. The absorbent article comprises anadhesive having a first pattern of elements and a second pattern ofelements disposed on first substrate and/or on portions of the elasticelements, a first texture zone, and a second texture zone. The firsttexture zone comprises a first portion of the substrates, a firstportion of the one or more elastic elements, and the first pattern ofelements of the adhesive. The first texture zone forms a backgroundpattern in the first portion of the substrates. The second texture zonecomprising a second portion of the substrates, a second portion of theone or more elastic elements, and the second pattern of elements of theadhesive. The second texture zone forms a macro pattern in the secondportion of the substrates.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above-mentioned and other features and advantages of the presentdisclosure, and the manner of attaining them, will become more apparentand the disclosure itself will be better understood by reference to thefollowing description of non-limiting embodiments of the disclosuretaken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a partially cut away plan view of a taped diaper with thegarment-facing surface oriented towards the viewer in accordance withone non-limiting embodiment;

FIG. 1A is a plan view of the taped diaper of FIG. 1 with thewearer-facing surface oriented towards the viewer in accordance with onenon-limiting embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a partially cut away plan view of a pant diaper with a beltportion extending from a first end portion of a chassis thereof inaccordance with one non-limiting embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a partially cut away plan view of a pant diaper with a firstbelt portion extending from a first end portion of a chassis and asecond belt portion extending from a second end portion of the chassisin accordance with one non-limiting embodiment;

FIG. 3A is an example cross-sectional view of the first belt portiontaken about line 3A-3A of FIG. 3 in accordance with one non-limitingembodiment;

FIG. 4 is a front perspective view of the taped diaper of FIG. 1 in afolded configuration in accordance with one non-limiting embodiment;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view the pant diaper of FIG. 2 with the beltportion joining opposing waist regions in accordance with onenon-limiting embodiment;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view the pant diaper of FIG. 3 with the beltportions joining the opposing waist regions in accordance with onenon-limiting embodiment;

FIG. 7 is a plan view of a pant diaper comprising a chassis and two beltportions extending from first and second end portions of the chassis inaccordance with one non-limiting embodiment;

FIGS. 8a-8g are example cross-sectional structures taken about line 8-8of FIG. 7. in accordance with various non-limiting embodiments;

FIG. 9 is a belt portion configured for use as part of an absorbentarticle in accordance with one non-limiting embodiment;

FIGS. 10A-10F illustrate cross-sectional views of elastic elements foruse in belt portions of the present disclosure in accordance withvarious non-limiting embodiments;

FIGS. 11-15 are schematic illustrations of absorbent articles with beltportions comprising texture zones, forming background patterns and macropatterns, and non-texture zones in accordance with various non-limitingembodiments;

FIGS. 16-18 are illustrations of absorbent articles with belt portionscomprising texture zones, forming background patterns and macropatterns, and non-texture zones in accordance with various non-limitingembodiments;

FIG. 19 is a partially cut away plan view of a belt portion comprisingtwo texture zones in accordance with one non-limiting embodiment;

FIG. 19A is an example cross-sectional view of the two texture zones ofFIG. 19 taken about line 19A-19A in accordance with one non-limitingembodiment;

FIG. 20A is a perspective view of an example texture zone in anabsorbent article in accordance with one non-limiting embodiment;

FIG. 20B is a cross-sectional view of the texture zone of FIG. 20A takenabout line MD using a first order of magnification in accordance withone non-limiting embodiment;

FIG. 20C is a cross-sectional view of the texture zone of FIG. 20A takenabout line MD using a second order of magnification in accordance withone non-limiting embodiment;

FIG. 20D is a perspective view of a portion of the texture zone of FIG.20A about line MD in accordance with one non-limiting embodiment;

FIG. 20E is another perspective view of a portion of the texture zone ofFIG. 20A about line MD in accordance with one non-limiting embodiment;

FIG. 20F is a cross-sectional view of the texture zone of FIG. 20A takenabout line MD using a third order of magnification in accordance withone non-limiting embodiment;

FIG. 21A is a perspective view of a portion of the texture zone of FIG.20A about line CD in accordance with one non-limiting embodiment;

FIGS. 21B and 21C are cross-sectional views of the texture zone of FIG.20A taken about line CD using a first order of magnification inaccordance with various non-limiting embodiments;

FIGS. 21D-21G are cross sectional views of the texture zone of FIG. 20Ataken about line CD using a second order of magnification in accordancewith various non-limiting embodiments;

FIGS. 22A-22F are example adhesive patterns on a substrate and/or onportions of elastic elements in accordance with various non-limitingembodiments;

FIGS. 23A and 23B are plan views of substrates used to form a beltportion of the absorbent article, wherein the substrates compriseprimary fiber bond patterns and densified regions formed therein inaccordance with various non-limiting embodiments;

FIG. 24 is a plan view of a densified region pattern and elasticelements in accordance with one non-limiting embodiment;

FIG. 25A is a plan view of a densified region on a first substrate inaccordance with one non-limiting embodiment;

FIG. 25B is a plan view of a primary fiber bond on a first substrate inaccordance with one non-limiting embodiment;

FIG. 26 is a graphical illustration of the texture ratio of variousabsorbent articles, including the absorbent articles of the presentdisclosure, in accordance with one non-limiting embodiment; and

FIG. 27 is another graphical illustration of the texture ratio ofvarious absorbent articles, including the absorbent articles of thepresent disclosure, in accordance with one non-limiting embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Various non-limiting embodiments of the present disclosure will now bedescribed to provide an overall understanding of the principles of thestructure, function, manufacture, and use of the absorbent articleshaving texture zones forming background and macro patterns and methodsfor making the same disclosed herein. One or more examples of thesenon-limiting embodiments are illustrated in the accompanying drawings.Those of ordinary skill in the art will understand that the absorbentarticles having texture zones forming background and macro patterns andmethods for making the same described herein and illustrated in theaccompanying drawings are non-limiting example embodiments and that thescope of the various non-limiting embodiments of the present disclosureare defined solely by the claims. The features illustrated or describedin connection with one non-limiting embodiment may be combined with thefeatures of other non-limiting embodiments. Such modifications andvariations are intended to be included within the scope of the presentdisclosure.

The following term explanations may be useful in understanding thepresent disclosure:

“Absorbent article(s)” is used herein to refer to consumer productswhose primary function is to absorb and retain soils and wastes.Absorbent articles may refer to pants and/or taped diapers. The terms“diaper” and “pants” are used herein to refer to absorbent articlesgenerally worn by infants, children, and incontinent persons about thelower torso. The term “disposable” is used herein to describe absorbentarticles which generally are not intended to be laundered or otherwiserestored or reused as an absorbent article (e.g., they are intended tobe discarded after a single use and may also be configured to berecycled, composted or otherwise disposed of in an environmentallycompatible manner).

The term “elastic element” is used herein to refer to materialsexhibiting elastic properties, which include any material that uponapplication of a force when in its relaxed, initial length may stretchor elongate to an elongated length equal to or greater than 10% morethan its initial length and will substantially recover back to about itsinitial length upon release of the applied force.

The terms “joined,” “attached,” or “engaged with” encompassconfigurations wherein an element is directly secured to another elementby affixing the element directly to the other element, andconfigurations wherein an element is indirectly secured to anotherelement by affixing the element to intermediate member(s) which in turnare affixed to the other element.

The term “longitudinal” is used herein to refer to a direction runningsubstantially perpendicular from a first waist opening edge to alongitudinally opposing second waist opening edge of an absorbentarticle when the absorbent article is in a flat out, uncontracted state,or from a waist opening edge to the bottom of the crotch region (i.e.,the fold line, in a bi-folded absorbent article). Directions within 45degrees of the longitudinal direction are considered to be“longitudinal.”

The term “lateral” is used herein to refer to a direction running from afirst longitudinally extending side edge to a laterally opposinglongitudinally extending second side edge of an absorbent article andgenerally at a right angle to the longitudinal direction. Directionswithin 45 degrees of the lateral direction are considered to be“lateral.”

The term “substrate” is used herein to describe a material which isprimarily two-dimensional (i.e., in an XY plane) and whose thickness (ina Z direction) is relatively small (i.e. 1/10 or less) in comparison toits length (in an X direction) and width (in a Y direction).Non-limiting examples of substrates comprise a web, layer or layers orfibrous materials, nonwovens, films and foils, such as polymeric filmsor metallic foils, for example. These materials may be used alone or maycomprise two or more layers laminated together. As such, a web is asubstrate.

The terms “nonwoven” or “nonwoven material” are used herein to refer toa material made from continuous (long) filaments (fibers) and/ordiscontinuous (short) filaments (fibers) by processes such asspunbonding, meltblowing, carding, and the like. Nonwovens do not have adefined woven or knitted filament pattern.

The term “machine direction” (MD) is used herein to refer to thedirection of material flow through a process. In addition, relativeplacement and movement of material can be described as flowing in themachine direction through a process from upstream in the process todownstream in the process.

The term “cross direction” (CD) is used herein to refer to a directionthat is generally perpendicular to the machine direction.

The term “taped diaper” is used herein to refer to disposable absorbentarticles having an initial front or first waist region and an initialback or second waist region that are not fastened, pre-fastened, orconnected to each other as packaged, prior to being applied to thewearer. A taped diaper may be folded about the lateral centerline withthe interior of one waist region in surface to surface contact with theinterior of the opposing waist region without fastening or joining thewaist regions together. Example taped diapers disclosed in varioussuitable configurations are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,167,897,5,360,420, 5,599,335, 5,643,588, 5,674,216, 5,702,551, 5,968,025,6,107,537, 6,118,041, 6,153,209, 6,410,129, 6,426,444, 6,586,652,6,627,787, 6,617,016, 6,825,393, and 6,861,571.

The term “pant” (also referred to herein as “diaper pants” or “pantdiapers”) is used herein to refer to disposable absorbent articleshaving a continuous perimeter waist opening and continuous perimeter legopenings designed for infant or adult wearers. A pant may be configuredwith a continuous or closed waist opening and at least one continuous,closed, leg opening prior to the absorbent article being applied to thewearer. A pant may be preformed by various techniques including, but notlimited to, joining together portions of the article using anyrefastenable and/or permanent closure member (e.g., seams, heat bonds,pressure welds, adhesives, cohesive bonds, mechanical fasteners, etc.).A pant may be preformed anywhere along the circumference of theabsorbent article in the waist region (e.g., side fastened or seamed,front waist fastened or seamed, rear waist fastened or seamed). A pantmay be opened about one or both of the side seams and then refastened.Example diaper pants in various configurations are disclosed in U.S.Pat. Nos. 5,246,433, 5,569,234, 6,120,487, 6,120,489, 4,940,464,5,092,861, 5,897,545, 5,957,908, and U.S. Patent Publication No.2003/0233082.

The term “initial waist opening circumference” is used herein to referto the circumference of the waist opening at the time the pant is placedin the package and subsequently when it is removed from the package bythe consumer.

The term “texture zone” or “elasticized texture zone” is used herein torefer to an elasticized region of the absorbent article comprising aplurality of rugosities which may be described by a range offrequencies, amplitudes, and/or surface geometries in one or both of themachine direction and the cross direction in its relaxed state. In anelongated state, the frequencies of the rugosities of a texture zone maydecrease proportionally to the induced elongation. Each texture zone maycomprise at least one substrate and at least one elastic element. Incertain instances, a texture zone may comprise two substrates and aplurality of elastic elements.

The term “background pattern” as used herein refers to a texture zonethat forms a backdrop or base pattern in a portion of an absorbentarticle. The background pattern may surround, or at least partiallysurround, a texture zone forming a macro pattern in the portion of theabsorbent article. The background pattern may be thought of as thesecondary pattern in the portion of the absorbent article.

The term “macro pattern” as used herein refers to a texture zone thatforms main portions or elements of a pattern in an absorbent article andthat is surrounded by, or at least partially surrounded by, thebackground pattern.

The term “rugosity” or “rugosities” as used herein may mean ridges,wrinkles, and/or creases formed in a substrate proximate to elasticelements attached to or otherwise engaged with the substrate when theelastic elements are in a relaxed state or a partially relaxed state.Each rugosity has a minimum amplitude of 0.25 mm.

Various substrates may be used to construct various components of theabsorbent articles, such as backsheets, topsheets, belt portions, andabsorbent cores. Example descriptions of absorbent article componentswith respect to both taped diapers and pant diapers are provided below.

The following provides a general description of various types of tapeddiapers and pant diapers. FIG. 1 shows one example of a plan view of ataped diaper 100T, with the garment-facing surface oriented towards theviewer. FIG. 1A shows a plan view of the taped diaper 100T with thewearer-facing surface oriented towards the viewer. The taped diaper 100Tshown in FIGS. 1 and 1A may comprise a chassis 102, a belt portion 103comprising first and second back ears 104 and 106, and first and secondfront ears 108 and 110. The first and second back ears 104 and 106 maybe integrally formed with the belt portion 103. The belt portion 103 maycomprise one or more elastic elements or elastic stands 105 therein.Although not illustrated, the front ears 108 and 110 may be formed froma second belt portion comprising elastic elements or strands. FIG. 2shows a plan view of a diaper pant 100P in a flat, unfolded condition,with the garment-facing surface oriented towards the viewer. The pantdiaper 100P shown in FIG. 2 also comprises a chassis 102 and a beltportion 111 comprising or forming first and second belt ears 112 and114. The belt portion 111 may also comprise elastic elements or elasticstrands 105 positioned therein. FIG. 3 shows a diaper pant 100P andchassis 102 in a flat, unfolded condition, with the garment-facingsurface oriented towards the viewer. However, the diaper pant 100P ofFIG. 3 comprises first and second rear belt ears 112 b and 114 b formedin a second belt portion 111 b, and first and second front belt ears 112a and 114 a formed in a first belt portion 111 a. In variousembodiments, the belt portions 111 b and 111 a may extend from thechassis 102 in both the lateral and longitudinal directions, may bejoined to the chassis 102 either on the wearer-facing surface orgarment-facing surface thereof, or may be formed integrally with one ormore of the materials used to form a portion of the chassis 102.

Although pant and taped diapers may have distinctly different featuresand components, it is to be appreciated that taped and pant diapers maycomprise many features and components that are the same, substantiallythe same, or similar with regard to disposition, structure, dimension,physical appearance, etc. For the purposes of a specific illustration,various common components of taped and pant diapers shown in FIGS. 1-6are described below before discussing different features and/orcomponents between the taped and pant diapers.

As shown in FIGS. 1-3, the diapers 100T and 100P are shown as having afirst waist region 116, a second waist region 118, and a crotch region120 disposed intermediate the first and second waist regions 116 and118. The first waist region 116 may be configured as a front waistregion, and the second waist region 118 may be configured as back waistregion. In some embodiments, the length of each of the front waistregion 116, the back waist region 118, and the crotch region 120 may be⅓ of the length of the absorbent article 100P and 100T. The absorbentarticles 100P and 100T, particularly the belt portions, may eachcomprise a laterally extending front waist opening edge 121 in the frontwaist region 116 and a longitudinally opposing and laterally extendingback waist opening edge 122 in the back waist region 118. In anembodiment, the front waist opening edge 121 and the back waist openingedge 122 may be formed by edges of the longitudinally spaced beltportions. To provide a frame of reference for the present discussion,the diapers 100T and 100P in FIGS. 1-3 are shown with a longitudinalaxis 124 and a lateral axis 126. The longitudinal axis 124 may extendthrough a midpoint of the front waist opening edge 121 and through amidpoint of the back waist opening edge 122. The lateral axis 126 mayextend through a midpoint of a first longitudinal or right side edge 128and through a midpoint of a second longitudinal or left side edge 130.

As shown in FIGS. 1-3, the absorbent articles 100T and 100P may eachcomprise an inner, wearer-facing surface 132, and an outer,garment-facing surface 134. The chassis 102 may comprise a backsheet 136and a topsheet 138. An absorbent assembly 140 including an absorbentcore 142 may be disposed intermediate a portion of the topsheet 138 anda portion of the backsheet 136. The chassis 102 may comprise a first endportion in the first waist region 116 and a second end portion in thesecond waist region 118. The one or more belt portions may extend from,be attached to, be joined to, or be formed with one or both of the firstend portion and the second end portion of the chassis 102 depending on aparticular desired configuration of an absorbent article. As discussedin more detail below, the diapers 100T and 100P may also comprise otherfeatures, such as leg elastics, an elastic or extensible waist region,and/or flaps (e.g., belt ears) to enhance the fit around the legs andwaist of the wearer. Referring specifically to FIG. 3, as an example,the first waist region 116 of the chassis 102 may form a portion of thefront waist opening edge 121 and/or the second waist region 118 of thechassis 102 may form a portion of the back waist opening edge 122.Alternatively, the belt portion 111 a may form a portion of, or all of,the front waist opening edge 121 and/or the belt portion 111 b may forma portion of, or all of, the back waist opening edge 122. Those of skillin the art will understand that this may depend on the placement of thebelt portions 111 a and 111 b on the chassis 102. The belt portion 111 amay comprise first and second leg opening edges 127 a and the beltportion 111 b may comprise first and second leg opening edges 127 b. Thebelt portion 111 a may comprise side edges 135 a and the belt portion111 b may comprise side edges 135 b.

In an embodiment, referring to FIG. 3A, which is an examplecross-sectional view taken about line 3A-3A of FIG. 3, each belt portion111 a or 111 b may comprise a first substrate 129 and a second substrate131. The first substrate 129 may be attached to the second substrate131. In an embodiment, one or more elastic elements or elastic strands105 may be positioned or disposed intermediate the first substrate 129and the second substrate 131. The first substrate 129 may be attached tothe second substrate 131 by one or more of the elastic elements orelastic strands 105. In other words, one or both of the substrates 129and 131 may be attached, or adhesively attached, to one or more of theelastic elements 105. In other embodiments, only one of the first andsecond substrates 129 and 131 may be attached to the elastic elements105 and the first substrate 129 may be bonded to, joined to, attachedto, or adhesively attached to the second substrate 131 (see e.g., bonds133 in dash). In an embodiment, the first and second substrates 129 and131 may comprise woven or nonwoven materials or various types of filmsas described in further detail herein.

In an embodiment, referring to FIGS. 1-3, the periphery of the chassis102 may be defined by the first longitudinal side edge 128, the secondlongitudinal side edge 130, a first laterally extending end edge 144disposed in the first waist region 116, and a second laterally extendingend edge 146 disposed in the second waist region 118. Alternatively, thefirst laterally extending end edge 144 disposed in the first waistregion 116 and the second laterally extending end edge 146 disposed inthe second waist region 118 may be overlapped by the belt portions 111 aand 111 b. Both side edges 128 and 130 extend longitudinally at leastpartially between the front waist edge 121 and the back waist edge 122.The laterally extending end edges 144 and 146 of the chassis 102 mayform a portion of the laterally extending front waist edge 121 in thefront waist region 116 and a portion of the longitudinally opposing andlaterally extending back waist edge 122 in the back waist region 118,unless overlapped by the belt portions. When either the taped diaper100T or the pant diaper 100P is worn on a lower torso of a wearer, thefront waist edge 121 and the back waist edge 122 may encircle a portionof the waist of the wearer. At the same time, the chassis side edges 128and 130 and the leg opening edges 127 a and 127 b (see FIG. 3) mayencircle a portion of the legs of the wearer. The crotch region 120 maybe generally positioned between the legs of the wearer with theabsorbent core 142 extending from the front waist region 116 through thecrotch region 120 to the back waist region 118.

As previously mentioned, the taped and pant diapers 100T and 100P maycomprise a backsheet 136. The backsheet 136 may define the outer surfaceor garment-facing surface 134 of the chassis 102. The backsheet 136 maybe impervious, or substantially impervious, to fluids (e.g., menses,urine, and/or runny feces) and may be manufactured from a thin plasticfilm, although other flexible liquid impervious materials may also beused. The backsheet 136 may prevent, or at least inhibit, the exudatesabsorbed and contained in the absorbent core 142 from wetting articleswhich contact the diapers 100T and 100P, such as bedsheets, pajamas, andundergarments, for example. The backsheet 136 may also comprise a wovenor nonwoven material, polymeric films such as thermoplastic films ofpolyethylene or polypropylene, and/or a multi-layer or compositematerials comprising a film and a nonwoven material (e.g., having aninner film layer and an outer nonwoven layer). The backsheet 136 mayalso comprise an elastomeric film. An example backsheet 136 may be apolyethylene film having a thickness of from about 0.012 mm (0.5 mils)to about 0.051 mm (2.0 mils). Example polyethylene films aremanufactured by Clopay Corporation of Cincinnati, Ohio, under thedesignation BR-120 and BR-121 and by Tredegar Film Products of TerreHaute, Ind., under the designation XP-39385. The backsheet 136 may alsobe embossed and/or matte-finished to provide a more cloth-likeappearance. Further, the backsheet 136 may permit vapors to escape fromthe absorbent core 142 (i.e., the backsheet is breathable) while stillpreventing, or at least inhibiting, exudates from passing through thebacksheet 136. The size of the backsheet 136 may be dictated by the sizeof the absorbent core 142 and/or particular configuration or size of thediapers 100T and 100P.

As also described above, the taped and pant diapers 100T and 100P maycomprise a topsheet 138. The topsheet 138 may define all or part of theinner surface or wearer-facing surface 132 of the chassis 102. Thetopsheet 138 may be compliant, soft feeling, and/or non-irritating tothe wearer's skin. It may be elastically stretchable in one or twodirections. Further, the topsheet 138 may be liquid pervious, permittingliquids (e.g., menses, urine, and/or runny feces) to penetrate throughits thickness. A suitable topsheet 138 may be manufactured from a widerange of materials such as woven and nonwoven materials, apertured orhydroformed thermoplastic films, apertured nonwovens, porous foams,reticulated foams, reticulated thermoplastic films, and thermoplasticscrims. Suitable woven and nonwoven materials may comprise naturalfibers such as wood or cotton fibers, synthetic fibers such aspolyester, polypropylene, or polyethylene fibers, or combinationsthereof. If the topsheet 138 comprises fibers, the fibers may bespunbond, carded, wet-laid, meltblown, hydroentangled, or otherwiseprocessed as is generally known in the art.

Topsheets 138 may be selected from high loft nonwoven topsheets,apertured film topsheets and apertured nonwoven topsheets. Aperturedfilm topsheets may be pervious to bodily exudates, yet non-absorbent,and have a reduced tendency to allow fluids to pass back through andrewet the wearer's skin. Example apertured films may comprise thosedescribed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,628,097, 5,916,661, 6,545,197, and6,107,539.

As mentioned above, the taped and pant diapers 100P and 100T may alsocomprise an absorbent assembly 140 that is joined to the chassis 102. Asshown in FIGS. 1-3, the absorbent assembly 140 may comprise a laterallyextending front edge 148 in the front waist region 116 and may have alongitudinally opposing and laterally extending back edge 150 in theback waist region 118. The absorbent assembly 140 may comprise alongitudinally extending right side edge 152 and a laterally opposingand longitudinally extending left side edge 154. Both absorbent assemblyside edges 152 and 154 may extend longitudinally between the front edge148 and the back edge 150. The absorbent assembly 140 may additionallycomprise one or more absorbent cores 142 or absorbent core layers. Eachof the one or more absorbent cores 142 or absorbent core layers may beat least partially disposed between the topsheet 138 and the backsheet136 and may be formed in various sizes and shapes that are compatiblewith the diapers 100T and 100P. Example absorbent structures for use asthe absorbent core of the present disclosure are described in U.S. Pat.Nos. 4,610,678, 4,673,402, 4,888,231, and 4,834,735.

Some absorbent core embodiments may comprise fluid storage cores thatcontain reduced amounts of cellulosic airfelt material. For instance,such cores may comprise less than about 40%, 30%, 20%, 10%, 5%, or even1% of cellulosic airfelt material. Such an absorbent core may compriseprimarily absorbent gelling material (AGM) in amounts of at least about60%, 70%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 95%, or even about 100%, where the remainder ofthe absorbent core comprises a microfiber glue (if applicable). Suchcores, microfiber glues, and absorbent gelling materials are describedin U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,599,335, 5,562,646, 5,669,894, 6,790,798, and7,521,587, as well as U.S. Patent Publication No. 2004/0158212.

As previously mentioned, the taped diapers 100T and pant diapers 100Pmay also comprise elasticized leg cuffs 156 on the chassis 102. It is tobe appreciated that the leg cuffs 156 may be and are sometimes alsoreferred to as leg bands, side flaps, barrier cuffs, elastic cuffs orgasketing cuffs. The elasticized leg cuffs 156 may be configured invarious ways to help reduce the leakage of body exudates in the legregions. Example leg cuffs 156 may comprise those described in U.S. Pat.Nos. 3,860,003, 4,909,803, 4,695,278, 4,795,454, 4,704,115, 4,909,803,7,931,636, and U.S. Patent Publication No. 2009/0312730A1.

As shown in FIG. 1A, the chassis 102 may have longitudinally extendingand laterally opposing side flaps 160 that are disposed on the interiorsurface or wearer-facing surface 132 of the chassis 102. Each of theside flaps 160 may have a proximal edge. The side flaps 160 may alsooverlap the absorbent assembly 140 (i.e., the proximal edges extendlaterally inward of the respective side edges of the absorbent assembly152 and 154). In some configurations, the side flaps 160 may not overlapthe absorbent assembly 140. It is to be appreciated that the side flaps160 may be formed in various ways, such as for example, by foldingportions of the chassis 102 laterally inward (i.e., toward thelongitudinal axis 124) to form both the respective side flaps 160 andthe side edges 128 and 130 of the chassis 102. In another example, theside flaps 160 may be formed by attaching an additional layer or layersto the chassis 102 at or adjacent to each of the respective side edgesand of the chassis 102. Each of the side flaps 160 may be joined to thewearer-facing surface 132 of the chassis 102 and/or the absorbentassembly 140 in side flap attachment zones in the front waist region 116and in side flap attachment zones in the back waist region 118. The sideflaps 160 may extend to the same longitudinal extent as the absorbentarticle or alternatively the side flaps 160 may have a longitudinalextent that is less than the absorbent article.

As previously mentioned, pant and taped diapers 100T and 100P may havedistinct different features and/or components. The following provides ageneral discussion of some such features and components with referenceto accompanying figures showing embodiments of taped and pant diapers.

Taped diapers may be manufactured and provided to consumers in aconfiguration where the front waist region 116 and the back waist region118 are not fastened, pre-fastened, joined, or connected to each otheras packaged, prior to being applied to the wearer. As shown in FIG. 4,for example, the taped diaper 100T may be folded about a lateralcenterline with the wearer-facing surface 132 of the first waist region116 in surface to surface contact with the wearer-facing surface 132 ofthe second waist region 118 without fastening or joining the waistregions together. The back ears 104 and 106 formed in the belt portion103 and/or the front ears 108 and 110 when present may also be foldedlaterally inward toward the inner or wearer-facing surfaces 132 of thefirst and second waist regions 116 and 118.

The taped diaper 100T may comprise various configurations of fasteningelements to enable fastening of the front waist region 116 and the backwaist region 118 together to form a closed waist circumference and legopenings once the taped diaper is positioned on a wearer. For example,as shown in FIG. 1A, the taped diaper 100T may comprise first and secondback ears 104 and 106 formed in the belt portion 103 and first andsecond front ears 108 and 110, wherein the first and second back ears104 and 106 are configured to comprise fastening components 162 and 164.The first and second front ears 108 and 110 may also be formed in a beltportion in some embodiments. Each fastening component 162 and 164 mayform a portion of or may be permanently bonded, adhered or otherwisejoined directly or indirectly to one of the substrates 129 and 131 ofthe belt portion 103, in the back waist region 118. In otherembodiments, the fastening components 162 and 164 may each be attachedor joined to the front ears 108 and 110. The fastening components mayalso be permanently bonded or joined at or adjacent the side edges 128and 130 of the absorbent article in various ways, such as for example,by adhesive bonds, sonic bonds, pressure bonds, thermal bonds orcombinations thereof.

The first fastening component 162 and/or the second fastening component164 may comprise various types of releasably engageable fasteners andmay also comprise various types of refastenable fastening structures.For example, the first and second fastening components 162 and 164 maycomprise mechanical fasteners, 166, in the form of hook and loopfasteners, hook and hook fasteners, macrofasteners, buttons, snaps, taband slot fasteners, tape fasteners, adhesive fasteners, cohesivefasteners, magnetic fasteners, hermaphrodidic fasteners, and the like.Some examples of fastening systems and/or fastening components 162, 164are discussed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,848,594, 4,662,875, 4,846,815,4,894,060, 4,946,527, 5,151,092, 5,221,274, 6,251,097, 6,669,618,6,432,098, and 7,799,006 and U.S. Patent Publication No. 2007/0078427.

As previously mentioned, the fastening components 162 and 164 may beconfigured to releasably and/or refastenably engage or connect withanother portion of the diaper 100T. For example, as shown in FIG. 1, thediaper 100T may comprise a connection zone 168, sometimes referred to asa landing zone, in the first waist region 116. In an embodiment, theconnection zone 168 may be formed on or attached to a belt portion inthe front waist region 116. As such, when the taped diaper 100T isplaced on a wearer, the fastening components 162 and 164 may be pulledaround a portion of the waist of the wearer and connected with theconnection zone 168 in the first waist region 116 to form a closed waistcircumference and a pair of laterally opposing leg openings. It is to beappreciated that the connection zone 168 may be constructed from aseparate substrate that is connected with the chassis 102 or beltportion of the taped diaper 100T. In some embodiments, the connectionzone 168 may be integrally formed as part of the backsheet 136 or a beltportion of the diaper 100T or may be formed as part of the first andsecond ears in one or both of the waist regions, such as described inU.S. Pat. Nos. 5,735,840 and 5,928,212.

The taped diaper 100T may comprise a non-engagement zone disposed on thesame surface and in the same waist region as the fastening components162 and 164. The non-engagement zone may be configured to help preventthe fastening components 162 and 164 from becoming engaged with otherelements of the absorbent article prior to use of the absorbent article.The non-engagement zone may comprise a film, coating, or other materialthat does not attach to or engage with the fastening components 162 and164. In certain embodiments, the non-engagement zone may be in surfaceto surface contact with the fastening surface of the fasteningcomponents 162 and 164 when the taped diaper 100T is packaged.

In contrast to taped diapers, pant diapers may be manufactured andprovided to consumers in a configuration wherein the front waist region116 and the back waist region 118 are fastened, pre-fastened, joined, orconnected to each other as packaged, prior to being applied to thewearer. As such pant diapers may have a continuous perimeter waistopening and continuous perimeter leg openings designed for infant,child, and/or adult wearers. As discussed in more detail below, a diaperpant may be preformed by various techniques including, but not limitedto, joining together portions of the diaper using refastenable and/orpermanent closure members (e.g., seams, heat bonds, pressure welds,adhesives, cohesive bonds, mechanical fasteners, etc.). In addition,pant diapers may be preformed anywhere along the circumference of thewaist region (e.g., side fastened or connected, front waist fastened orconnected, rear waist fastened or connected).

In some embodiments, pant diapers 100P may be configured with belt ears112 and 114 that may be formed with or attached to a belt portion in oneor both of the waist regions 116 and 118 or to the chassis 102. Forexample, FIGS. 2 and 5 show a pant diaper 100P including first andsecond belt ears 112 and 114 in the rear waist region 118. The belt ears112 and 114 may be formed in the belt portion 111 or be joined to thebelt portion 111 or joined to chassis 102. The belt ears 112 and 114 maybe substantially rectangular in shape or the belt ears 112 and 114 maybe shaped in such a way as to provide an integral tab for ease ofopening and refastening. The belt ears 112 and 114 may be also beextensible or elastically extensible in the lateral direction and/or thelongitudinal direction. The belt ears 112 and 114 may comprise one ormore films, nonwovens, or a combination of films and nonwovens. Theelement elements 105 may be elastically extensible in at least thelateral direction.

As previously mentioned and with reference to FIGS. 2 and 5, the firstand second belt ears 112 and 114 formed on the belt portion 111 orjoined to the belt portion 111 or joined to the chassis 102 may connectthe first waist region 116 with the second waist region 118 of thechassis 102 to form a waist opening 170 and two leg openings 172. Forexample, proximal end regions 174 of the first and second belt ears 112and 114 are formed with the belt portion 111 and distal end regions 176of the first and second belt ears 112 and 114 are connected with thefront waist region 116 of the chassis 102 to the form the pant diaper100P.

It is to be appreciated that the distal end regions 176 of one or boththe belt ears 112 and 114 may be connected with the front waist region116 of the chassis 102 in various ways. For example, in someconfigurations, the belt ears 112 and 114 may be permanently connectedwith opposing waist regions and cannot be refastened once broken. Suchpermanent seams are pre-closed to provide a product that looks likeunderwear and may be applied like underwear (i.e., a pant that may bepulled-on over the legs). Disposable pant diapers with permanent seamsmay require a separate element for disposal such as a disposal tapedisposed on the outer surface of the absorbent article. Other disposablepant diapers may have non-permanent seams and may be refastenable,thereby allowing the caregiver to open the initial waist openingcircumference and leg openings and reclose them to facilitateapplication similar to a traditional tape style diaper. As such, thedistal end regions 176 of the belt ears 112 and 114 may be permanentlybonded, releasably connected, and/or refastenably connected with theopposing waist region of the chassis 102, with for example, adhesives,cohesives, thermal bonding, ultrasonic bonding, mechanical bonding andmechanical fastening (e.g., hook and loop type fasteners). For example,one or more fastener elements may be located on or form a portion of thebelt ears and may be adapted to refastenably connect with one or morecorresponding fastening elements located in the first or second waistregions 116 and 118 or alternatively the fastener elements may beadapted to refastenably connect with one or more components of theabsorbent article including the belt ears 112 and 114. It should beappreciated that the belt ears may also be formed as continuousextensions of the first and second waist regions of the chassis 102.

The ability to refasten an initially pre-fastened pant diaper may offerconvenience to the caregiver. In some instances, it may be moreconvenient to apply the absorbent article like a traditional tape stylediaper when away from home or when it is inconvenient to remove theclothing and/or shoes. Because it is difficult to predict when a changewill be necessary and therefore when a particular mode of applicationwill be needed, it is beneficial to have a disposable pant diaper thatis adaptable to being applied either as a traditional tape style diaperor as a disposable pant diaper, pull-on. In addition, an absorbentarticle that may be applied like a traditional tape style diaper or adisposable pant diaper also permits inspection of the interior of theproduct without having to pull the product down. These refastenablestructures may also provide dual functionality enabling the wrapping anddisposal of the used product.

As previously mentioned, the belt ears formed in the belt portions ofpant diapers may be configured in different ways. It is to beappreciated that the belt ears may be formed by connecting ear panelsformed in the belt portions 111 a and 111 b together. In someembodiments, pant diapers may be configured with belt ears formed withthe belt portions 111 a and 111 b in both of the waist regions 116 and118. For example, FIGS. 3 and 6 show a pant diaper 100P, wherein thefirst belt ear 112 formed in the belt portion 111 a comprises a firstear panel 112 a connected with a second ear panel 112 b, and the secondbelt ear 114 formed in the belt portion 111 a comprises a first earpanel 114 a connected with a second ear panel 114 b. The first earpanels 112 a, 114 a each comprise proximal regions 174 a formed in thebelt portion 111 a, which is connected to, joined to, or formed with thechassis 102. Second ear panels 112 b, 114 b may each comprise proximalregions 174 b formed in the belt portion 111 b, which is connected to,joined to, or formed with the second waist region 118 of the chassis102. A distal region 176 a of the first ear panel 112 a and a distalregion 176 b of the second ear panel 112 b may be connected with eachother along a first side seam 178 to form the first belt ears 112.Likewise, a distal region 176 a of the first ear panel 114 a and adistal region 176 b of the second ear panel 114 b may be connected witheach other along a second side seam 180 to form the second belt ear 114.

It should also be appreciated that the ear panels in one waist regionmay have the same lateral extent from the side edge of the chassis 102to the distal edge of the ear panel as the longitudinally opposed earpanels in the opposite waist region or alternatively the ear panelsdisposed in a first waist region 116 may have different lateral extentas measured from the side edge of the chassis 102 to the distal edge ofthe ear panel than the ear panels disposed in a second waist region 118.

As such, for a pant diaper including side seams, portions of the pantdiaper 100P adjacent the side edges 135 a and 135 b on the first andsecond belt portions 111 a and 111 b may be connected or joined to forma first permanent side edge seam 178 and a second permanent side edgeseam 180. The connection of the side edge seams 178 and 180 define theinitial waist opening 170 and a pair of leg openings 172. In anotherconfiguration, a pant diaper 100P may comprise a first mating fasteningcomponent having a fastening surface and an opposing attachment surface,wherein the attachment surface is joined directly to the interior orexterior surface of the pant diaper in a first waist region 116. Thepant diaper may further comprise a second mating fastening componenthaving a fastening surface and an opposing attachment surface, whereinthe attachment surface may be joined directly to the same surface oropposing surface of the pant diaper as the first fastening component.The second mating fastening component may be joined to or may form aportion of the surface to which the attachment surface of the firstmating fastening component is joined or may be joined to or may form aportion of an opposing surface relative to the surface to which theattachment surface of the first mating fastening component is joined.

In yet another configuration, the pant diaper may comprise a frangibleseparation zone that may be disposed laterally inward of the side edgeseams 178 and 180 that allows the initial waist opening circumference170 and leg openings 172 of the pant 100P to be opened for removal or toenable application as a traditional tape style diaper. As discussedabove, the pant diaper may further comprise a first fastening componentand a second fastening component disposed in one of the front or backwaist regions 116 and 118. Each of the fastening components may bedisposed on the same surface of the pant diaper 100P (e.g., the outer orgarment-facing surface 134) or on opposing surfaces. The fasteningcomponents may be capable of being fastened in a traditional tape stylediaper fashion or fastened to reform a secondary waist openingcircumference and leg openings after the initial waist openingcircumference and leg openings have been broken. In addition, thefastening components may be used to aid disposal of a soiled pant.

As previously mentioned, the bonds of the side edge seams 178 and 180may be permanent and may be formed in various ways appropriate for thespecific materials employed. Thus, example bond types may comprisediscrete bonds such as sonic sealed bonds, heat sealed bonds, highpressure bonds, radio frequency bonds, adhesive or cohesive bonds, sewedbonds, autogeneous bonds, and combinations thereof. In accordance withone aspect of the present disclosure, the permanent side edge seams 178and 180 may be joined by a predetermined pattern of heat/pressure orultrasonic welds which withstands the forces and stresses exacted ontothe side edge seams 178 and 180 during application and wear of the pant100P. The permanent side edge seams 178, 180 may be formed as disclosedin U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,779,831, 5,772,825, 5,607,537, 5,622,589, 5,662,638,6,042,673, and 6,726,792.

Because the pant diaper 100P may be configured with permanent side edgeseams 178 and 180, both permanent side edge seams may be pre-closed,meaning that the side edge seams are closed prior to removal of thediaper pant 100P from its package, and therefore prior to being donnedon the lower torso of the wearer. The pre-closed permanent side edgeseams 178 and 180 may form an initial waist opening circumference andleg circumferences. The initial waist opening circumference and legcircumferences may be opened at predetermined frangible separationzones. In an embodiment, the permanent side edge seams cannot bereclosed to form the secondary waist opening circumference and legopenings.

Additionally, various diaper pant configurations are disclosed in U.S.Pat. Nos. 5,246,433, 5,569,234, 6,120,487, 6,120,489, 4,940,464,5,092,861, 5,897,545, 5,957,908, 7,101,359, 7,407,468, 7,820,875, and7,799,006 and U.S. Patent Publication Nos. 2003/0233082, 2003/0088220,2003/0233082, 2005/0215970, 2007/0078427, 2007/0074381, 2007/0078426,and 2008/0107861.

In an embodiment, referring to FIG. 7, a simplified absorbent article200, such as a pant, for example, is illustrated in FIG. 7. Variouscomponents have been removed for clarity in illustration. The absorbentarticle 200 may comprise a front or first belt portion 202 and a rear orsecond belt portion 204. The first belt portion 202 may be positioned inthe first waist region 116, while the second belt portion 204 may bepositioned in the second waist region 118. The first belt portion 202and the second belt portion 204 are together intended to encircle atleast a portion of the waist of the wearer when portions of the firstbelt portion 202 are joined or releasably joined to portions of thesecond belt portion 204. The first and second belt portions 202 and 204may be connected to each other by a chassis 206. The chassis 206 mayform the crotch region 120 in the absorbent article 200. The chassis 206may also form portions of the first and second waist regions 116 and118. In various embodiments, the first and second belt portions 202 and204 may overlap first and second end portions of the chassis 206. Thisoverlap may occur on the wearer-facing surface or on the garment-facingsurface of the chassis 206. In the illustration of FIG. 7, thewearer-facing surface of the chassis 206 is oriented towards the viewer.In other embodiments, there may not be any overlap or very limitedoverlap of the first and second belt portions 202 and 204 with thechassis 206. In such an embodiment, the first and second belt portions202 and 204 may be joined to the first and second end portions of thechassis 206 at or near the point of intersection between the endportions and the belt portions 202 and 204. FIGS. 8a-8g are some examplestructural cross-sections taken about line 8-8 of FIG. 7 in variousembodiments. Also, the number of elastic elements in the cross-sectionsis not limiting and more or less elastic elements may be used. Variousfeatures of absorbent articles are eliminated in FIGS. 8a-8g for clarityin illustration.

In an embodiment, referring to FIGS. 8a and 8b , the absorbent articles200 may comprise the first and second belt portions 202 and 204 intendedto encircle at least a portion of the waist of the wearer. The first andsecond belt portions 202 and 204 may be connected by the chassis 206 ofthe absorbent article 200. The first and second belt portions 202 and204 may comprise a first substrate 210 forming a portion of the outer,garment-facing surface 134 of the absorbent article 200. The firstsubstrate 210 on the belt portions 202 and 204 may be formed of twolongitudinally spaced webs of material. The first and second beltportions 202 and 204 may also comprise a second substrate 212 forming aportion of the inner, wearer-facing surface 132 of the absorbent article200. The second substrate 212 on the belt portions 202 and 204 may alsobe formed of two longitudinally spaced webs of material. The secondsubstrate 212 may also be discontinuous and spaced apart in a transversedirection. The first and second substrates 210 and 212 may be formed ofthe same, or substantially the same, material or may comprise differentmaterials. The first and second substrates 210 and 212 may be formedfrom nonwovens, films, foams, elastics, nonwovens, or combinationsthereof. The first and second belt portions 202 and 204 may alsocomprise the elastic elements 214 disposed at least partially betweenthe first and second substrates 210 and 212. Any suitable number ofelastic elements 214 may be provided in each belt portion. The elasticelements 214 may comprise one or more elastic strands, elastomericfilms, elastomeric ribbons, elastomeric nonwovens, elastomericfilaments, elastomeric adhesives, elastomeric foams, scrims, orcombinations thereof. A portion of the elastic elements 214 may bedirectly combined with the outer, garment-facing surface or layer 134.The chassis 206 may comprise at least a portion of the outer,garment-facing surface 134, the backsheet 136, at least a portion of theinner, wearer-facing surface 132, the topsheet 138, and the absorbentcore 142 disposed between the topsheet 138 and the backsheet 136. Thebacksheet 136 may be formed of a nonwoven material, a woven material,and/or films or laminates comprising a combination of one or more ofthese materials. In an embodiment, the backsheet 136 may be a film andnonwoven laminate, wherein the nonwoven of the laminate may be an outercover substrate 242 of the absorbent article 200. In addition, thechassis 206 may comprise elasticized barrier leg cuffs 156 (see e.g.,FIG. 3) disposed at or adjacent the side edges 152 and 154 (see e.g.,FIG. 3) of the chassis 206. The first and second substrates 210 and 212may overlap at least a portion of the chassis 206 and one or both of thebelt portions 202 and 204 may be disposed on the outer, garment-facingsurface 134 of the chassis 206 or on the inner, wearer-facing surface132 of the chassis 206. A portion of the first or second substrates 210and 212 may be directly attached to the outer cover substrate 242.Alternatively, the first and second substrates 210 and 212 may compriselongitudinally spaced webs of material forming a first surface of one ormore of the belt portions 202 and 204, wherein the webs are folded alongthe waist opening edges 121 or 122 or the leg opening edges 127 of oneor more of the belt portions 202 and 204 to wrap the elastic elements214 and form at least a portion of the second surface of one of more ofthe belt portions 202 and 204. Stated another way, at least a portion ofthe inner, wearer-facing surface 132 and at least a portion of theouter, garment-facing surface 134 of each of the belt portions 202 and204 may be formed from a single web of material.

In an embodiment, referring to FIGS. 8c and 8d , the first and secondbelt portions 202 and 204 may comprise a first substrate 210 extendingfrom a first waist opening edge 121 in a first waist region 116 throughthe chassis 206 to a longitudinally opposing second waist opening edge122 in a second waist region 118 and forming a portion of the outer,garment facing surface 134 of the absorbent article 200. The first andsecond belt portions 202 and 204 may comprise a second substrate 212forming a portion of the inner, wearer-facing surface 132 of theabsorbent article 200. The second substrate 212 may extend from thefirst waist opening edge 121 to the second waist opening edge 122. Inother embodiments, the second substrate 212 may be formed of twolongitudinally spaced webs of material. The first and second beltportions 202 and 204 may also comprise a plurality of elastic elements214 disposed at least partially between the first and second substrates210 and 212. The elastic elements 214 may be the same as describedabove. The chassis 206 may comprise at least a portion of an outer,garment facing surface 134, a backsheet 136, at least a portion of aninner, wearer-facing surface 132, a topsheet 138, and an absorbent core142 disposed between the topsheet 138 and the backsheet 136. The firstsubstrate 210 or the second substrate 212 may form a portion of theouter, garment-facing surface 134. In addition, the chassis 206 maycomprise elasticized barrier leg cuffs 156 disposed at or adjacent theside edges 152 and 154 of the chassis 206. The second substrate 212 mayoverlap at least a portion of the chassis 206 and one or both of thesecond substrate webs may form the outer surface of the first substrate210 or the inner surface of the first substrate 210. Alternatively, thefront portion and/or the rear portion of the first substrate 210 may befolded along one of the waist opening edges 121 or 122 of one of thewaist regions 116 or 118 to wrap the elastic elements 214 and form aportion of the second substrate 212 of one or both of the first andsecond belt portions 202 and 204. Stated another way, the inner surfaceand outer surface of each of the first and second belt portions 202 and204 may be formed from a single web of material.

In an embodiment, referring to FIGS. 8e and 8f , the absorbent articles200 may comprise a full outer cover substrate 242, extending from afirst waist opening edge 121 in a first waist region 116, through thechassis 206 and to the longitudinally opposing second waist opening edge122 in a second waist region 118. The absorbent article 200 may alsocomprise first and second belt portions 202 and 204 intended to encirclethe waist of the wearer. The first and second belt portions 202 and 204may be connected to the outer cover substrate 242 and/or to the chassis206 of the absorbent article 200. The first and second belt portions 202and 204 may comprise a first substrate 210 forming a portion of theouter, garment-facing surface 134 of the belt 202 or 204. The firstsubstrate 210 may be formed of two longitudinally spaced webs ofmaterial. The first and second belt portions 202 and 204 may comprise asecond substrate 212 forming a portion of the inner, wearer-facingsurface 132 of the absorbent article 200. The second substrate 212 mayalso be formed of two longitudinally spaced webs of material. The firstand second substrates 210 and 212 may be formed of substantially thesame material or may comprise different materials. The first and secondsubstrates 210 and 212 may be formed from nonwovens, films, foams, orcombinations thereof. The first and second belt portions 202 and 204 mayalso comprise an elastic elements 214 disposed between the first andsecond substrates 202 and 204. The elastic elements 214 may be the sameor similar to that described above. The first and second belt portions202 and 204 may be disposed on the interior surface of the outer coversubstrate 242. Alternatively, the first and second belt portions 202 and204 may be disposed on the outer surface, or garment-facing surface 134of the outer cover substrate 242. In such an embodiment, the outer coversubstrate 242 may form a portion of the inner, garment-facing surface132 of the absorbent article 200 in the waist regions 116 and 118 andthe first substrate 210 may form a portion of the outer, garment-facingsurface 134 of the absorbent article 200. The second substrate 212, whenpresent, may be disposed between the first substrate 210 and the outercover substrate 242. The chassis 206 of the absorbent article 200 maycomprise at least a portion of an outer, garment-facing surface 134, abacksheet 136, at least a portion of an inner, wearer-facing surface132, a topsheet 138, and an absorbent core 142 disposed between thetopsheet 138 and the backsheet 136. In addition, the chassis 206 maycomprise elasticized barrier leg cuffs 156 (see e.g., FIG. 3) disposedat or adjacent the side edges 152 and 154 (see e.g., FIG. 3) of thechassis 206. One or both of the first and second belt portions 202 and204 may overlap at least a portion of the chassis 206 and one or both ofthe belt portions 202 and/or 204 may be disposed on the outer,garment-facing surface 134 of the chassis 206 or on the inner,wearer-facing surface 132 of the chassis 206. One or both of the firstand second belt portions 202 and/or 204 may be disposed on the interiorsurface of the outer cover substrate 242 or on one or both of the beltportions 202 and/or 204 may be disposed on the exterior surface of theouter cover substrate 242. One or both of the first and second beltportions 202 and/or 204 may comprise longitudinally spaced webs ofmaterial forming a first surface of the belt portion 202 or 204, whereinthe webs may be folded along the waist opening edge 121 or 122 of thebelt portion 202 or 204 to wrap the elastic elements 214 and form atleast a portion of the second surface of the belt portion 202 or 204.Stated another way, a portion of or the entirety of the inner surfaceand outer surface of one or both of the belt portions 202 or 204 may beformed from a single web of material. The rugosities, wrinkles, folds,pleats, or textures in one or both of the front and rear belt portions202 and 204 may have a different configuration, size, orientation,shape, etc., than that of the outer cover substrate 242 and/or thebacksheet 136.

In an embodiment, referring to FIG. 8g , the first and second beltportions 202 and 204 may comprise a first substrate 210 forming aportion of the outer, garment-facing surface 134 of the absorbentarticle 200 and a second substrate 212 forming a portion of the inner,wearer-facing surface 132 of the absorbent article 200. The secondsubstrate 212 may be laterally discontinuous and spaced apart in atransverse direction. The first and second substrates 210 and 212 may beformed of the same, or substantially the same material, or may comprisedifferent materials. The first and second substrates 210 and 212 may beformed from nonwovens, films, foams or combinations thereof. The firstand second belt portions 202 and 204 may also comprise elastic elements214 disposed between the first and second substrates 210 and 212. Theelastic elements 214 may be the same as or to similar to that describedabove. A portion of the elastic elements 214 may be directly combinedwith the outer cover substrate 242. The chassis 206 may comprise atleast a portion of an outer, garment-facing surface 134, a backsheet136, at least a portion of an inner, wearer-facing surface 132, atopsheet 138, and an absorbent core 142 disposed between the topsheet138 and the backsheet 136. In an embodiment, the backsheet 136 may be anonwoven and film laminate, wherein the nonwoven may be formed by theouter cover substrate 242. In addition, the chassis 206 may compriseelasticized barrier leg cuffs 156 (see e.g., FIG. 3) disposed at oradjacent the side edges 152 and 154 (see e.g., FIG. 3) of the chassis206. The first and second belt portions 202 and 204 may overlap at leasta portion of the chassis 206 and one or both of the belt portions 202and/or 204 may be disposed on the outer, garment-facing surface 134 ofthe chassis 206 or on the inner, wearer-facing surface 132 of thechassis 206. A portion of the first and/or second substrates 210 and/or212 may be directly attached to the outer cover substrate 242. The firstand second belt portions 202 and 204 may be formed from a first beltsubstrate extending from the first waist opening edge 121 in the firstwaist region 116 through the crotch region 120 to the second waistopening edge 122 in the second waist region 118 and forming a portion ofthe outer, garment-facing surface 134 of the absorbent article 200. Thefirst and second belt portions 202 and 204 may also comprise a secondsubstrate 212 extending from the first waist opening edge 121 in thefirst waist region 116 through the crotch region 120 to the second waistopening edge 122 in the second waist region 118 and forming a portion ofthe inner, wearer-facing surface 132 of the absorbent article 200. Thefirst and second substrates 210 and 212 may be formed of the same orsubstantially the same material or may comprise different materials. Thefirst and second substrates 210 and 212 may be formed from nonwovens,films, foams, woven materials, or combinations thereof. The first andsecond belt portions 202 and 204 may also comprise elastic elements 214disposed between the first and second substrates 210 and 212 in one orboth of the first and second waist regions 116 and 118. The elasticelements 214 may be the same as or similar to that described above. Thechassis 206 may comprise at least a portion of an outer, garment-facingsurface 134, a backsheet 136, at least a portion of an inner,wearer-facing surface 132, a topsheet 138, and an absorbent core 142disposed between the topsheet 138 and the backsheet 136. One or both ofthe first and second substrates 210 and 212 may form a portion of theouter, garment-facing surface 134. In addition, the chassis 206 maycomprise elasticized barrier leg cuffs 156 (see e.g., FIG. 3) disposedat or adjacent the side edges 152 and 154 (see e.g., FIG. 3) of thechassis 206. A portion of one or both of the first and second beltportions 202 and 204 may overlap at least a portion of the chassis 206.Alternatively, the first and second belt portions 202 and 204 maycomprise a substrate forming a first surface of the belt portion 202 or204, wherein the substrate may be folded along the waist opening edge121 or 122 of the belt portion 202 or 204 to wrap the elastic elements214 and overlap a portion of the opposing substrate 210 or 212. Statedanother way, a portion of the inner surface and a portion of the outersurface of each of the belt portions 202 and 204 may be formed from asingle web of material.

In an embodiment, a portion of or the whole of the chassis 206 of thevarious absorbent articles 200 may be made extensible to a degreegreater than the inherent extensibility of the material or materialsfrom which the chassis 206 is made (e.g., the topsheet 138, thebacksheet 136). The additional extensibility may be desirable in orderto allow the chassis 206 to conform to the body of a wearer duringmovement by the wearer and in order to allow the wearer of the absorbentarticle 200, including a chassis 206 having a particular size beforeextension, to extend the first waist region 116, the second waist region118, or both of the waist regions 116 and 118 of the chassis 206 toprovide additional body coverage for wearers of differing size (i.e., totailor the absorbent article 200 to the individual wearer). Suchextension of the waist region or regions 116 or 108 may give the chassis206 a generally hourglass shape, so long as the crotch region 120 isextended to a relatively lesser degree than the waist region or regions116 and 118, and may impart a tailored appearance to the absorbentarticle 200 when it is worn. In addition, the additional extensibilitymay be desirable in order to minimize the cost of the absorbent article200. For example, an amount of material that would otherwise besufficient only to make a relatively smaller absorbent article lackingthis extensibility may be used to make an absorbent article capable ofbeing extended to adequately cover a lower torso of a wearer that islarger than the unextended smaller absorbent article would fit.

In various embodiments, a portion of the chassis 206, for example, aportion of the chassis 206 in one or both of the waist regions 116and/or 118 may be made laterally extensible to a maximum extensibilitygreater than a maximum extensibility of the crotch region 120 of thechassis 206 such that a lateral extension of each of the portions to itsmaximum extensibility imparts an hourglass shape to the chassis 206. Inan embodiment, the portion of the chassis 206 underlying and/orimmediately adjacent the first and/or second belt portions 202 and/or204 may be made laterally extensible to a maximum extensibility greaterthan a maximum extensibility of another portion of the chassis 206, forexample the crotch region 230, such that a lateral extension of each ofthe portions to its maximum extensibility facilitates application of theabsorbent article 200 onto the body of a wearer by enabling the waistregions 116 and 118 to be extended to fit over the wearer's hips and, inaddition, opening and orienting the leg openings 172 enabling the wearerto place the legs through the openings 172 more effectively.

Additional lateral extensibility in the chassis 206 may be provided in avariety of ways. For example, a material or materials from which thechassis 206 is made may be pleated by any of a plurality of methods.Alternatively, all or a portion of the chassis 206 may be made of aformed web material or a formed laminate of web materials similar or thesame as those described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,518,801, issued on May 21,1996, to Chappell et al. This formed web material may comprise distinctlaterally extending regions in which the original material has beenaltered by embossing, or another method of deformation, to create apattern of generally longitudinally oriented alternating ridges andvalleys. The formed web material may also comprise laterally extendingunaltered regions between the laterally extending altered regions. Theformed web material may be extended in a direction perpendicular to theridges up to the point where the ridges and valleys flatten, orsubstantially flatten, with substantially less force than is required toextend beyond that point. In addition to lateral extensibility, thecreation of a formed laminate web, as described above, may provide abacksheet with improved texture and a cloth-like appearance and feel.The deformation may create a cloth-like pattern in the film and mayincrease the loft of the nonwoven in multi-layer film and nonwovenlaminate backsheets.

Alternatively, a portion of the absorbent article 200 may be ring-rolledand, thus, rendered highly extensible as described in U.S. Pat. No.5,366,782, issued Nov. 22, 1994, to Curro, et al. Specifically, aring-rolling apparatus may comprise opposing rolls having intermeshingteeth that incrementally stretch and, thereby, plastically deform thematerial forming the absorbent article 200 (or a portion thereof),thereby rendering the absorbent article 200 extensible in thering-rolled regions. In an embodiment, an absorbent article may bering-rolled in a portion of at least one of the first or second waistregions 116 or 118 or in a portion of the chassis 206 underlying and/orimmediately adjacent one or both of the first and second belt portions202 and 204, while other regions or portions may comprise a structuredelastic-like formed web material. The absorbent article 200 may bering-rolled across the entire width in one or both of the waist regions116 and/or 118 or may be ring-rolled over only a portion of the chassiswidth.

The front laterally central portion and the back laterally centralportion of the chassis 206 may have a different range of extensibilityfrom other portions of the chassis 206. Additionally or alternatively,the laterally central portions may be extensible to a greater or lesserdegree when subjected to a given level of opposing tensile forces (i.e.,may be more easily or less easily extensible, than other portions of thechassis 206).

In an embodiment, referring to FIGS. 9 and 11, a belt portion 300 may beformed with, be attached to, be joined to, overlap, and/or extend from afirst end portion and/or a second end portion of a chassis 310 of anabsorbent article 312. The belt portion 300 may be disposed on awearer-facing surface or on a garment-facing surface of the chassis 310or intermediate the garment-facing surface and the wearer-facingsurface. The garment-facing surface is facing the viewer in FIGS. 9 and11. The belt portion 300, in various embodiments, may comprise a firstsubstrate 302, a second substrate 304, and one or more elastic elements,strands, or strips 306 disposed at least partially between the twosubstrates 302 and 304. The elastic elements 306 may be elongate. Thebelt portion 300 may comprise one or more texture zones or a singleuniform or non-uniform texture zone. The elastic elements 306 may beelongate and may be adhesively joined, or otherwise joined, to a portionof the first substrate 302 and/or to a portion of the second substrate304. The adhesive may be applied to the portion of the first substrate302 and/or to the portion of the second substrate 304 in a pattern thatdefines a rugosity frequency in the one or more texture zones, asdescribed in more detail below. The elastic elements 306 may beintermittently or continuously adhesively or otherwise joined to theportion of the first substrate 302 and/or to the portion of the secondsubstrate 304. In FIGS. 9 and 11, the first substrate 302 is facing theviewer. The first and second substrates 302 and 304 may be comprised ofnonwoven materials or other suitable materials as described above. Alongitudinal axis 301 and a lateral axis 303 may be defined through thechassis 310.

In an embodiment, referring to FIG. 9, one of or both of the first andsecond substrates 302 and 304, or portions thereof, may not be provided.In one example, only portions of the elastic elements 306 may bedisposed intermediate the first and second substrates 302. One or bothof the substrates 302 and/or 304 may be non-continuous or have cut-outsso as to not extend fully about the belt portion 300. In an embodiment,portions of one of the substrates 302 or 304 may not be provided in somenon-wearer contacting areas or other areas of the wearing-facingsurface, and the elastic elements 306 may be attached to the remainingsubstrate 302 or 304 at least in those portions. In such an embodiment,the remaining full substrate 302 or 304 may be disposed on or form aportion of the garment-facing surface of the absorbent article 312.

Referring to FIGS. 10A-10F, the elastic elements 306 may be formed ofany suitable materials as described above and may have any suitablecross-sectional shape, such as round, triangular, generally flat,rectangular or square, half-moon shaped, or ovate, for example. Those ofskill in the art will recognize that other suitable cross-sectionalshapes for the elastic elements 306 are also within the scope of thepresent disclosure. In various embodiments, the elastic elements 306 mayvary in width and/or thickness about their length. In an embodiment, thedimensions (e.g., thickness, length, cross-sectional profile, width) ofone elastic element 306 may be different than or the same as thedimensions of another elastic element 306 within the same belt portion.In an embodiment, the elastic elements 306 may comprise strips of anelastic film material, for example. In some embodiments, the elasticelements may have different pre-strain levels when attached to thesubstrates.

In general, referring again to FIG. 9, the elastic elements 306 may belinear and extend parallel to each other, or substantially linear andextend substantially parallel to each other, and may have equal oruniform, or substantially equal or uniform, distant spacingtherebetween. For instance, distances D1, D2, D3, and D4 may all beequal or substantially equal (e.g., within 0.5-3.0 mm or 1.0-2.0 mm) toeach other. Different texture zones having different textures, whetherforming background or macro patterns, may be created even with equal, orsubstantially equal, spacing or distances between the elastic elements306. In other embodiments, at least some of the distances D1, D2, D3,and D4 may be different than each other (i.e., non-uniform) within atleast one texture zone, while other distances may be the same orsubstantially the same (i.e., uniform or substantially uniform) as eachother. The spacing of the elastic elements 306 may be the same,substantially the same or different throughout all texture zones, as thetexture zones are described herein. In an embodiment, some elasticelements 306 may be curved, such that at least some of the elasticelements 306 may be concentric with each other and have equal orsubstantially equal spacing therebetween. Alternatively, the elasticelements, whether curved or straight, may not be parallel to each other,and the spacing therebetween may not be uniform. In yet otherembodiments, at least two of the elastics elements may intersect oroverlap.

In related art belt portions, as the distance between the elasticelements decreases, the rugosity frequency increases and as the distancebetween the elastic elements increases, the rugosity frequencydecreases. In the present disclosure, however, this is not necessarilytrue. In fact, the rugosity frequency may increase with the samedistance or increasing the distance between the elastic elements or therugosity frequency may decrease as the distance between the elasticelements decreases. Without being bound by any particular theory, it isbelieved that this occurs because the buckles or pleats formed in therugosities are controlled, at least in part, by the amount and rigidityof the substrate(s) between the elastic members. The present disclosureprovides for alteration of the local stiffness (e.g., densified regions)of a substrate or laminate of substrates to better define buckling orpleating points in interstitial areas between the elastic members,thereby controlling the resulting textures.

In addition to the belt portion 300, referring again to FIG. 11, asecond belt portion 308 may be attached to, joined to, overlap with,and/or extend from the second end portion of the chassis 310 of theabsorbent article 312. The second belt portion 308 is positioned acrossthe lateral axis 303 from the first belt portion 300 and longitudinallyopposes the first belt portion 300. The first belt portion 300 may forma portion of a first waist region while the second belt portion 308 mayform a portion of a second waist region. The second belt portion 308 maybe similar to or have at least the same features as the first beltportion 300. In other embodiments, the second belt portion 308 may bedifferent than the first belt portion 300 (e.g., different size ortexture zone locations). Each of the belt portions 300 or 308 maycomprise a first side edge 314 and a laterally opposed second side edge316. The first side edge 314 is positioned across the longitudinal axis301 from the second side edge 316 and laterally opposes the second sideedge 316. At least a portion of, or all of, the first side edge 314 ofthe belt portion 300, or the first belt portion 300, may be joined to atleast a portion of, or all of, the first side edge 314 of the secondbelt portion 308. At least a portion of, or all of, the second side edge316 of the first belt portion 300 may be joined to at least a portionof, or all of, the second side edge 316 of the second belt portion 308to form a waist opening and two leg openings in the absorbent article312. Instead of, or in addition to, the various side edges being joinedto each other, side edge regions of the belt portions 300 and 308proximate to the various side edges may be joined to each other to forma waist opening and two leg openings in the absorbent article 312. Anexample absorbent article having a waist opening and two leg openings isillustrated in FIG. 6. In an embodiment, this joining may be permanentto form a pant or a releasable or disengagable taped diaper. In anembodiment, the belt portion 300 may comprise a first waist opening edge318 and the second belt portion 308 may comprise a longitudinallyopposed second waist opening edge 320. The first waist opening edge 318is positioned across the lateral axis 303 from the second waist openingedge 320. Each of the belt portions 300 and 308 may comprise a first legopening edge 322 and a second, laterally opposed second leg opening edge324. The first leg opening edges 322 are positioned across thelongitudinal axis 301 from the second leg opening edges 324.

In an embodiment, the belt portions 300 and 308 and/or other elasticizedportions of the absorbent articles disclosed herein may comprise texturezones forming background and macro patterns, single uniform ornon-uniform textures, or other patterns therein. The texture zonesforming the background and macro patterns, single uniform or non-uniformtextures, or other patterns may be formed by the first substrate 302,the second substrate 304, and the elastic elements 306. In anembodiment, the texture zones may be formed by one of the substrates 302or 304 and the elastic elements 306. As discussed above, the firstsubstrate 302 and/or the second substrate 304 of the belt portions 300and 308 may be portions of continuous materials, such as a nonwovenmaterials, that also cover central portions of the chassis 310 or may beseparate layers of material covering a garment-facing and/orwearing-facing surface of the belt portions 300 and 308. In otherembodiments, the first substrate 302 and the second substrate 304 may bea backsheet and a topsheet of an absorbent article 312, for example. Invarious embodiments, each absorbent article 312 and/or each belt portion300 or 308 may comprise two or more texture zones, wherein the firsttexture zone forms a background pattern 334, and wherein the secondtexture zone forms a macro pattern 336. In other embodiments, the beltportions may only comprise a single uniform or non-uniform texture. Aplurality of second texture zones may be provided to form a plurality ofmacro patterns or to create multiple macro pattern elements in one macropattern. If more than two texture zones are provided, the additionaltexture zones may form other patterns in the absorbent article and/or inone or both of the belt portions. In an embodiment, the other patternsmay be formed in or on the macro pattern 336 or in the backgroundpattern 334. The absorbent articles may also comprise one or morenon-texture zones “NT” (see e.g., FIGS. 11 and 12) in addition to thetexture zones. In an embodiment, one or more of the macro patterns 336or background patterns 334 may indicate, at least in part, to a wearerthe appropriate orientation of the absorbent article about a lower torsoof a wearer (see e.g., FIG. 13).

In an embodiment, a first texture zone forming a background pattern maycomprise a first portion or area of the first and/or second substrates302 and 304 and the elastic elements 306. A second texture zone forminga macro pattern may comprise a second portion or area of the firstand/or second substrates 302 and 304 and the elastic elements 306.Furthermore, three or more other texture zones forming any suitablepatterns in the belt portions may comprise a third portion or area orother portion or area of the first and/or second substrates 302 and 304and the elastic elements 306. Stated another way, each texture zoneformed in the absorbent article 312 may comprise a portion or area of atleast one of the substrates and a portion of the elastic elements 306.The various texture zones may be located at any suitable location on theabsorbent articles, such as on the belt portions or on other elasticizedportions, for example. Some specific examples embodiments of texturezones forming background and macro patterns are provided below forillustration in various non-limiting embodiments.

In various embodiments, FIGS. 11-15, illustrate examples of absorbentarticles 312 with texture zones or elasticized texture zones(hereinafter “texture zones”) forming background patterns and macropatterns in belt portions 300 and 308. The garment-facing surface isfacing towards the viewer in FIGS. 11-15, however it is to be understoodthat the texture zones forming the background and macro patterns may beviewable on one or both of the wearer-facing surface and thegarment-facing surface and that the texture zones may be positioned inthe same areas or different areas if the wearer-facing surface wasfacing toward the viewer. Although, the absorbent articles 312 areillustrated as pant diapers, it will be understood that the absorbentarticles 312 may also be taped diapers and may comprise fasteningcomponents 326 on at least one belt portion (see e.g., FIG. 15). Thevarious macro and background patterns may be suitable to receive or beattached to a fastening component. The various background and macropatterns formed by texture zones in FIGS. 11-15 are indicated byshading. The white portions (chassis 310 in FIGS. 11-15) may benon-texture zones for purposes of this disclosure. Non-texture zones arezones that are not texture zones and that generally do not have the“texture” with elastically extensible rugosities discussed in thepresent disclosure. While FIGS. 11-15 are merely examples of texturezones forming background and macro patterns, the present disclosurecontemplates a plurality of configurations of texture zones formingbackground and macro patterns on belt portions. It is also within thescope of the present disclosure to have one belt portion or portions ofone or both belt portions having non-texture zones.

In an embodiment, referring to FIG. 11, an absorbent article 312 maycomprise a belt portion 300 having two different texture zones. Thefirst texture zone may form a background pattern 334 in the belt portion300 and the second texture zone may form a macro pattern 336 in the beltportion 300. The same background pattern 334 and macro pattern 336 maybe formed on the second belt portion 308 as well (although notillustrated) or texture zones forming other background and macropatterns may be formed on the second belt portion 308. The macro pattern336 may be formed of a plurality of discrete, linear or substantiallylinear elements. The discrete, linear elements may separate portions ofthe background pattern 334 from each other. Each of the discrete, linearelements may be surrounded by, or at least partially surrounded by, aportion of the background pattern 334. The macro pattern 336 may beformed in a different texture zone as the background pattern 334 owingto at least one of: (1) different primary fiber bond patterns in thesubstrates 302 and 304 in portions forming the macro pattern 336 and inportions forming the background pattern 334; (2) different adhesivepatterns disposed between the substrates 302 and 304 in portions formingthe macro pattern 336 and in portions forming the background pattern334; (3) different adhesive attachment of the elastic elements 306 tothe substrates 302 and 304 in portions forming the macro pattern 336 andin portions forming the background pattern 334; (4) different densifiedregion patterns in the substrates 302 and 304 in portions forming themacro pattern 336 and in portions forming the background pattern 334,and (5) any combination of items 1-4. Other texture zones forming otherpatterns may also be provided in the belt portions 300 and 308.

In an embodiment, referring to FIG. 12, an absorbent article 312 maycomprise a belt portion 300 comprising two texture zones. The firsttexture zone may form a background pattern 334 in the belt portion 300and the second texture zone may form a macro pattern 336 in the beltportion. The macro pattern 336 may be formed of discrete, wavy lines orshapes, for example. The background pattern 334 may at least partially,or fully, surround the macro pattern 336, or portions thereof, and themacro pattern 334 may separate portions of the background pattern 334from each other. The second belt portion 308 may also comprise twotexture zones, at least one of which may be different than the twotexture zones in the belt portion 300. The first texture zone may form abackground pattern 334 in the belt portion 308 and the second texturezone may form a macro pattern 336 in the belt portion 308. The macropattern 336 in the second belt portion 308 may be formed of ovals, forexample, and may be surrounded by the background pattern 334. Thevarious texture zones may be formed as discussed herein. In anembodiment, the macro patterns and/or the background patterns on thebelt portions 300 and 308 may indicate the appropriate orientation ofthe absorbent article about a lower torso of a wearer. For example, thewavy line macro pattern 336 may be a front portion of the absorbentarticle 312, while the oval macro pattern 336 may be a back portion ofthe absorbent article 312. By providing such features, a caregiver caneasily recognize how to appropriately don the absorbent article 312 on alower torso of a child or other individual. Other texture zones formingother patterns may also be provided in the belt portions 300 and 308.

In an embodiment, referring to FIG. 13, an absorbent article 312 maycomprise a belt portion 300 comprising two texture zones. The twotexture zones may form a background pattern 334 and a macro pattern 336in the belt portion 300. The macro pattern 336 may comprise indicia,logos, branding indicia, and/or text, such as the word “FRONT,” forexample. The word “FRONT” may indicate to a caregiver the appropriateorientation of the absorbent article 312 on a wearer. In an embodiment,although not illustrated, the second belt portion 308 may also compriseindicia, logos, branding indicia, and/or text, such as the word “BACK”or “REAR.” The words “BACK” or “REAR” may indicate to a caregiver theappropriate orientation of the absorbent article 312 on a wearer. Thetwo texture zones may be formed as discussed herein. Other texture zonesforming other patterns may also be provided in the belt portions 300 and308.

In an embodiment, referring to FIG. 14, an absorbent article 312 maycomprise a belt portion 300 and a second belt portion 308. Each of thetexture zones of the belt portions 300 and 308 may comprise a backgroundpattern 334 and a macro pattern 336. The macro pattern 336 may compriseany suitable shapes, such as stars, for example. The macro pattern 336may be fully or partially surrounded by the background pattern 334. Invarious embodiments, the macro pattern 336 and the background pattern334 may be the same on the first belt portion 300 and the second beltportion 308. Other texture zones forming other patterns in the beltportions 300 and 308 may also be provided, such as other texture zonesforming indicia, logos, branding indicia, or text, for example.

In an embodiment, referring to FIG. 15, an absorbent article 312 maycomprise a belt portion 300 and a second belt portion 308. Each beltportion 300 and 308 may comprise three texture zones. The first texturezone may form a background pattern 334 in the belt portions 300 and 308.The second texture zone may form a first macro pattern 336 in the beltportions 300 and 308 and the third texture zone may form a second macropattern 338 in the belt portions 300 and 308. The background pattern 334in the belt portions 300 and 308 may be the same, substantially thesame, or different. Likewise, the first macro pattern 336 in the beltportions 300 and 308 may be the same, substantially the same, ordifferent. If they are different, they may form different shapes and mayhave different areas, for example. In the example embodimentillustrated, the first macro pattern 336 in the first belt portion 300forms a different shape and has a different area than the first macropattern 336 in the second belt portion 308. Also, the second macropattern 338 in the first belt portion 300 may form a different shape andmay have a different area than the second macro pattern 338 in thesecond belt portion 308. Other configurations of macro patterns andadditional macro patterns are within the scope of the presentdisclosure.

The various macro patterns and background patterns referenced herein mayextend over all of or a portion of the area of the belt portions 300 or308. In an embodiment, the background patterns may form a grid-likestructure (see e.g., FIG. 16) and the macro patterns may form discreteelements positioned between the grid-like structure. The macro patternsand/or the background patterns may extend from a first side edge 314 toa second side edge 314, or partially between the same. Likewise, themacro patterns and/or the background patterns may extend from a waistopening edge 318 or 320 to a leg opening edge 322 or 324, or partiallybetween the same. In an embodiment, the macro pattern and the backgroundpattern may alternate about one or more of the belt portions 300 and308. For example, in the direction between the first side edge 314 andthe second side edge 316 or in the direction between the waist openingedge 318 and/or 320 and the leg opening edges 322 and/or 324, thepattern may be background pattern, macro pattern, background pattern,macro pattern, and so forth. In an embodiment, the background patternmay form an outer portion or border of the belt portions 300 and 308 andthe macro pattern may form the area surrounded by the outer portion orborder or vice versa. Other configurations of background and macropatterns on belt portions are contemplated by the present disclosure.

Some example appearances of the texture zones forming backgroundpatterns 334 and macro patterns 336 of the present disclosure onabsorbent articles 312 are illustrated in FIGS. 16-18. As can be seen,in various embodiments, the texture zones forming background patterns334 and macro patterns 336 may extend about a waist opening and aboutleg openings of the absorbent article 312. Of course, the texture zonesmay also extend through any other areas, belted portions, or otherportions of the absorbent articles 312 with elastic elements disposed onat least one, and possibly between two, substrates. In variousembodiments, as illustrated in some of the figures, printing, outlining,painting, dying, tinting, and/or other techniques may also be used toenhance the visibility of the various texture zones.

In an embodiment, referring to FIG. 19, another example belt portion 300for an absorbent article is illustrated. The absorbent article comprisestexture zones forming a background pattern 334 and a macro pattern 336therein. The background pattern 334 has a different texture as the macropattern 336. The belt portion 300 comprises a first substrate 302, asecond substrate 304, and a plurality of elastic elements 306 disposedintermediate the first and second substrates 302 and 304.

In an embodiment, referring to FIG. 19A, an example cross-section takenabout line 19A-19A of FIG. 19 is illustrated. FIG. 19A illustrates themacro pattern 336 and the background pattern 334. The macro pattern 336has a first rugosity frequency or rugosity frequency range F1 and afirst rugosity amplitude or rugosity amplitude range A1 and thebackground pattern 334 has a second rugosity frequency or secondrugosity frequency range F2 and a second rugosity amplitude or rugosityamplitude range A2. The first rugosity frequency F1 is different thanthe second rugosity frequency F2 and, likewise the first rugosityamplitude A1 is different than the second rugosity amplitude A2. It isto be understood that each rugosity within a particular macro orbackground pattern may not have exactly the same frequency or amplitude,as such frequency and amplitude ranges of rugosities may be formed in aspecific macro and background patterns. The rugosity frequency andrugosity amplitude ranges in a particular macro or background patternmay be different than, the same as, or at least partially overlap therugosity frequency and rugosity amplitude ranges in one or more othermacro or background patterns in the same absorbent article. Densifiedregions “DR” are illustrated in FIG. 19A. The densified regions in asubstrate may have a thickness that is less than about ⅓ of thethickness of the non-densified areas of the substrate, for example. Thedimensions of the densified regions DR in the macro pattern 336 may bedifferent than the dimensions of the densified regions DR in thebackground pattern 334. The elastic elements 306 are in their relaxedstate in FIG. 19A.

In an embodiment, a first substrate of a belt portion may comprise anonwoven material comprising a plurality of densified regions. The beltportion may also comprise a second substrate that may comprise anonwoven material and may comprise a plurality of densified regions ormay be free of the plurality of densified regions. The first substrateand/or the second substrate may have a rugosity frequency of greaterthan about 7, 7, about 8, 8, about 9, or 9 and less than about 25rugosities per centimeter. The plurality of densified regions in thefirst and/or second substrates may define the rugosity frequency of oneor more texture zones formed in the first and/or second substrates. Thevarious densified regions may be continuous and/or discontinuous. Asubstrate may have densified regions that are continuous and densifiedregions that are discontinuous. The belt portions may also compriseelastic elements disposed at least partially intermediate the first andsecond substrates.

In an embodiment, a substrate of a belt portion may comprise a laminatecomprising two layers or materials joined together by a primary fiberbonds and/or a densified regions that define a rugosity frequency of atexture zone of the belt portion.

In an embodiment, referring to FIG. 19A, the rugosities in a texturezone may be described by a sinusoidal shape. Each rugosity may bedescribed to have a crest, C, at its highest point and a trough, T, atits lowest point. The rugosity length is defined by the linear distancein the machine direction, MD, between two adjacent crests and isdetermined as described below in the Rugosity Length, RugosityFrequency, Rugosity Amplitude, Elastic Element Spacing, and TextureRatio Method. The rugosity amplitude is defined by the linear distancein the “Z” direction between an adjacent crest, C, and a trough, T andis determined as described below in the Rugosity Length, RugosityFrequency, Rugosity Amplitude, Elastic Element Spacing, and TextureRatio Method. The rugosity frequency is described by rugosity length pera unit length, resulting as the number of rugosities per cm.

Suitable rugosity frequencies used to create macro and backgroundpatterns or other texture zones, such as single uniform texture zones,may range from about 0.1 rugosities per cm to about 50 rugosities percm, alternatively, about 0.5 rugosities per cm to about 25 rugositiesper cm, alternatively, about 1 rugosity per cm to about 10 rugositiesper cm, and alternatively, about 5 rugosities per cm to about 10rugosities per cm, specifically reciting all 0.1 rugosity per cmincrements within the above-recited ranges and all ranges formed thereinor thereby. Suitable rugosity amplitudes may be in the range of about0.25 mm to about 15 mm, alternatively about 0.5 mm to about 10 mm, andalternatively, about 1 mm to about 5 mm, specifically reciting all 0.1mm increments within those ranges and all ranges formed therein orthereby.

The elastic element spacing may be measured according to the RugosityLength, Rugosity Frequency, Rugosity Amplitude, Elastic Element Spacing,and Texture Ratio Method described below. Example elastic elementspacing may be in the range of about 2 mm to about 20 mm, about 4 mm toabout 18 mm, about 4 mm to about 15 mm, about 5 mm to about 15 mm, about6 mm to about 15 mm, greater than 4 mm and less than 15 mm, about 4 mm,about 5 mm, about 6 mm, about 7 mm, about 8 mm, about 9 mm, or about 10mm, specifically reciting all 0.5 mm increments within the specifiedranges and all ranges formed therein or thereby. These elastic elementsmay be uniformly spaced or non-uniformly spaced relative to each otherin various embodiments. In an embodiment of a belt portion, the elasticselements may be uniformly spaced in portions and non-uniformly spaced inother portions. The elastic elements may be straight or may becurvilinear.

The various belt portions of the absorbent articles of the presentdisclosure may have one or more texture zones having texture ratios. Thetexture zones may be uniform or non-uniform. The texture ratios aredetermined by the Rugosity Length, Rugosity Frequency, RugosityAmplitude, Elastic Element Spacing, and Texture Ratio Method describedbelow. Some example texture ratios may be about 2 to about 35(units−Average Elastic Element Spacing (cm)/Average Rugosity Length(cm)) or about 4 to about 30. A higher texture ratio enables a slimmerfitting product at a lower cost and increased comfort of the wearer inaddition to the other advantages described herein. As such, some rangesof texture ratios are about 4 to about 25, about 4.5 to about 25, about5 to about 25, about 5 to about 20, about 5.5 to about 20, about 6 toabout 20, about 7 to about 20, above about 4, above about 5, above about5.5, above about 6, or above about 7, specifically reciting all 0.1increments within the ranges specified in this paragraph and all rangesformed therein or thereby.

FIG. 20A illustrates an example texture zone having a plurality ofrugosities under magnification on an absorbent article. The scale shownin FIG. 20A is in centimeters. The example texture zone illustrates amacro pattern or a background pattern. Either pattern may have similarcharacteristics and structural properties, only the rugosity frequencyand rugosity amplitude, or ranges thereof, may change. The elasticelements are indicated as “E” in FIG. 20A. MD is the machine directionand CD is the cross-direction, as explained in further detail herein.The first substrate 302 is facing the viewer in FIG. 20A. FIG. 20B is across-sectional view taken about line MD of FIG. 20A using a first orderof magnification, while FIG. 20C is a cross-sectional view taken aboutline MD of FIG. 20A using a second order of magnification. The secondorder of magnification is greater than the first order of magnification.FIGS. 20B and 20C illustrate the rugosities in the texture zone. FIGS.20D and 20E are perspective views of a portion of the texture zone ofFIG. 20A taken about line MD. FIG. 20F is a cross-sectional view takenabout line MD of FIG. 20A using a third order of magnification. Thedensified regions are indicated as DR in FIGS. 20D-20F. In FIGS.20A-20F, the elastic elements E are in their relaxed state.

FIG. 21A is a top perspective view of the texture zone of FIG. 20A takenabout line CD illustrating the rugosities and the densified regions, DR.FIGS. 21B and 21C are cross-sectional views of FIG. 20A taken about lineCD using a first order of magnification. FIGS. 21D and 21F arecross-sectional views of FIG. 20A taken about a portion of line CD usinga second order of magnification. FIGS. 21E and 21G are additionalcross-sectional view of FIG. 20A taken about a portion of line CD usingthe second order of magnification. The elastic elements “E” areillustrated in FIGS. 21B-21G in their relaxed state. The densifiedregions DR or densified region patterns of FIGS. 20A-21G may be formedusing the pattern of densified regions illustrated in FIG. 24.

In an embodiment, referring again to FIGS. 19 and 19A, within thebackground pattern 334 and the macro pattern 336 a rugosity frequencyand/or a rugosity amplitude range in the first substrate 302 and thesecond substrate 304 may be different. For example, larger rugosityfrequencies or rugosity amplitudes, or ranges thereof, may be providedon the substrate on the garment-facing surface to connote stretch andsmaller rugosity frequencies or rugosity amplitudes, or ranges thereof,may be provided on the substrate on the wearer-facing surface to createa smoother surface on the skin of a wearer to prevent, or at leastinhibit, skin markings associated with the rugosities. The “rugosities”are formed by the pleats or folds in the first and second substrates 302and 304 when the elastic elements 306 are contracted into a relaxed, orpartially relaxed, state. The first and second substrates 302 and 304may be bonded to or adhesively attached (e.g., using glue) to theelastic elements 306 at bond sites 309. In some embodiments, the firstand second substrates, or portions thereof, may also be bonded directlyto each other. The elastic elements 306 in FIGS. 19 and 19A are shown intheir relaxed or contracted state. If the elastic elements 306 wherepartially elongated in the directions of arrow A, the rugosities in thefirst and second substrates 302 and 304 would begin to flatten (i.e.,reduce in rugosity amplitude). If the elastic elements 306 where fullyelongated, or mostly elongated, in the directions of arrow A, the firstand second substrates 302 and 304 may be generally flat or substantiallyflat. As such, to form the rugosities in the first and second substrates302 and 304, the elastic elements 306 are attached to one or both of thefirst and second substrates 302 and 304 in their expanded or prestrainedstate and then allowed to contract into a state of lower energy.

In an embodiment, the rugosity of one texture zone (whether forming abackground pattern or a macro pattern) may be the same as or differentthan the rugosity of at least one other texture zone (whether forming abackground pattern or a macro pattern) in a belt portion. In otherembodiments, the rugosity of one texture zone may be the same as ordifferent than the rugosity in all of the other texture zones in a beltportion or in an absorbent article (e.g., two belt portions). A rugosityin a first texture zone may have a first range of amplitudes and/or afirst range of frequencies and a rugosity in a second texture zone mayhave a second range of amplitudes and/or a second range of frequencies.The ranges of amplitudes in two or more of the texture zones mayoverlap, not overlap, be the same, or be different. Likewise, the rangesof frequencies in two or more of the texture zones may overlap, notoverlap, be the same, or be different. In other embodiments, the shapesof the rugosities may impact the texture appearance by being angular,trapezoidal, asymmetric, round, triangular, or any other suitablegeometric form. In still other embodiments, the rugosities may have thesame, or a very similar, frequencies, but may have different shapes(e.g., triangular, rounded, trapezoidal).

As described herein, the various texture zones (whether forming abackground or macro pattern or a single texture zone) may be formed in abelt portion comprising a first substrate, a second substrate, and aplurality of elastic elements disposed therebetween. The first substratemay be attached to the second substrate and/or to at least some of theelastic elements. In other embodiments, the first and second substratesmay be attached to each other and/or to the elastic elements. In anyevent, the elastic elements may be attached to at least one of thesubstrates. In an embodiment, the elastic elements may cause a firstrugosity to be created in the first substrate and a second, differentrugosity to be created in the second substrate in the same area of abelt portion but on opposing surfaces of the belt portion. This type oftexturing may be caused by the primary fiber bond patterns or otherlarger bond patterns (i.e., densified regions) in each of the firstsubstrate and the second substrate. In such an embodiment, the firstsubstrate may have a different primary fiber bond pattern than thesecond substrate. In various embodiments, the bond areas in a firstprimary fiber bond pattern of a first substrate may be larger or smallerwhen compared to the bond areas in a second primary fiber bond patternof a second substrate.

In an embodiment, referring again to FIG. 11, the absorbent article 312may comprise the chassis 310, the first belt portion 300 extending froma first end portion of the chassis 310, and the second belt portion 308extending from a second end portion of the chassis 310. FIG. 11 isoriented such that a garment-facing surface is directed toward theviewer. The chassis 310 may overlap a portion of the first belt portion300 and/or the second belt portion 308 such that a backsheet 330 of thechassis 310 may form a portion of the garment-facing surface. Statedanother way, the belt portions 300 and 308 may be in a face-to-facerelationship with a topsheet 332 of the chassis 310. The chassis 310 mayalso comprise an absorbent core 350 positioned between at least aportion of the topsheet 332 and the backsheet 330, as described ingreater detail above. In an embodiment, the belt portions 300 and 308may comprise a first texture zone forming a background pattern 334, asecond texture zone forming a macro pattern 336, and optionally one ormore other texture zones. The first texture zone form the backgroundpattern 334 may have a different texture as the backsheet 330 and adifferent or the same texture as the second texture zone forming themacro pattern 336. In an embodiment, the first texture zone may have afirst range of rugosities, the second texture zone may have a secondrange of rugosities, and the backsheet's texture may be substantiallyflat (i.e., does not have a rugosity). The backsheet 330 may be oneexample of a “non-texture zone.” In other embodiments, the backsheet330, or portions thereof, may have a range of rugosities that is thesame as or different than the range of rugosities in one or both of thefirst and second texture zones. If the belt portions 300 and 308 are ina face-to-face relationship with the backsheet 330, then the topsheet332 may have similar features as the backsheet 330 discussed above. Inother embodiments, the elastic elements 306 in the belt portions 300 and308 may not be “activated” by not bonding elastic elements to thesubstrate(s) in some areas and cutting or breaking the elastic elements306, thereby creating additional “non-texture zones.” In an embodiment,this non-activated zone may occur over an area or portion of the area ofthe absorbent core 350, for example.

In an embodiment, referring to FIGS. 9 and 11, the absorbent article 312may comprise a first belt portion 300 and a second belt portion 308. Thefirst belt portion 300 may comprise a first substrate 302, a secondsubstrate 304 joined to at least a portion of the first substrate 302,and a plurality of elongate elastic elements or strands 306 disposed atleast partially intermediate the first substrate 302 and the secondsubstrate 304. The second belt portion 308 may comprise a thirdsubstrate and a fourth substrate (similar to or the same as thesubstrates 302 and 304). The fourth substrate may be joined to at leasta portion of the third substrate. The second belt portion 308 maycomprise a plurality of elongate elastic elements or strands disposed atleast partially intermediate the third substrate and the fourthsubstrate. The first and second belt portions 300 and 308 may each havea texture zone having a texture ratio of greater than 5 and less than 25or greater than 5, specifically reciting all 0.5 mm increments withinthe specified ranges and all ranges formed therein or thereby andspecifically including all texture ratio ranges set forth herein.Portions of the first belt portion 300 may be joined to portions of thesecond belt portion 308 to form a pant. The texture zones of the firstand second belt portions 300 and 308 may be continuous and uniform atleast proximate to where the portions of the first belt portion 300 arejoined to the portions of the second belt portion 308. In otherembodiments, the texture zones of the first and second belt portions 300and 308 may be discontinuous and uniform or non-uniform at leastproximate to where the portions of the first belt portion 300 are joinedto the portions of the second belt portion 308. The texture zones on thefirst and second belt portions may have the same texture ratio or adifferent texture ratio. The portions of the first belt portion 300 maybe releasably or permanently joined to the portions of the second beltportion 308.

In various embodiments, referring again to FIG. 19, for example, theelastic elements 306 may be disposed intermediate at least a portion ofthe first substrate 302 and the second substrate 304 and may be attachedto one or both of the substrates 302 and 304 using an adhesive or othermaterial as described in greater detail above. The elastic elements 306may also be bonded to or otherwise attached to one or both of thesubstrates 302 and 304. If an adhesive is used, the adhesive can bedisposed on one or both of the substrates 302 and 304 and/or on at leastportions of the elastic elements 306 in a pattern. The adhesive may besprayed on, rolled on, or printed on one of the substrates 302 and 304in the pattern. The pattern may be continuous or discontinuous or mayhave portions that are continuous or discontinuous. The pattern may alsobe linear or non-linear or may comprise discrete shapes. In anembodiment, the adhesive may be applied by contacting an adhesiveapplying device with one or both of the substrates 302 and 304 or aplurality of the elastic elements 306. The adhesive and/or the adhesiveapplying device may be heated to aid in the distribution or applicationof the adhesive. Some example techniques and equipment for applying theadhesives of the present disclosure are disclosed in U.S. Patent Publ.No. 2011/0274834, published on Nov. 10, 2011, to Brown et al.

In various embodiments, referring to FIGS. 22A-22F, some exampleadhesive patterns of elements are disclosed on portions of a firstsubstrate 302, for example. The machine direction (MD) is illustrated.FIG. 22A illustrates an adhesive pattern of elements 311 that may beless desirable to create the texture zones (whether macro patterns orbackground patterns) of the present disclosure (but that could still beused with various primary fiber bond patterns at a suitable scale of therugosities), while the adhesive patterns of elements 311′ and 311″ ofFIGS. 22-22E illustrate adhesive patterns of elements 311′, 311″, 311A,and 311B, respectively, that may be more desirable to create the texturezones of the present disclosure. In an embodiment, a first adhesivepattern of elements 311′, such as the pattern illustrated in FIG. 22B,may be applied to one of the substrates 302 or 304 in an area of a macropattern, while a second adhesive pattern of elements 311′, such as thepattern illustrated in FIG. 22C, may be applied to one of the substrates302 or 304 in an area of the background pattern. In another embodiment,a first adhesive pattern of elements 311A, such as the patternillustrated in FIG. 22D, may be applied to one of the substrates 302 or304 in an area of a macro pattern, while a second adhesive pattern ofelements 311B, such as the pattern illustrated in FIG. 22E, may beapplied to one of the substrates 302 or 304 in an area of the backgroundpattern. Any of the various adhesive patterns of FIGS. 22A-22E or otheradhesive patterns may be used in creating macro and background patternsin various texture zones. The patterns of elements 311C may overlap, orpartially overlap, each other as illustrated in FIG. 22F. The overlappedpatterns may be applied in a single adhesive application step, orapplied separately. The various adhesive patterns of elements maycomprise elements or discrete elements having a size and a shape. Thepatterns may also have different spacing between the elements. A firstadhesive pattern of elements may comprise elements having a first sizeand a first shape and a second adhesive pattern of elements may compriseelements having a second size and a second shape. The first and secondsizes and/or the first and second shapes may be the same or different.In an embodiment, the elements of the adhesive patterns of elements maybe positioned on a portion of the elastic elements 306 (only one elasticelement 306 is shown in FIGS. 22A-22E) in a non-continuous fashion. Theelastic elements 306, in their expanded state, may be disposed over aportion of, or all of, the first substrate 302 prior to the applicationof the adhesive pattern(s) of elements. The second substrate 304 (notillustrated in FIGS. 22A-22E) may then be joined to portions of thefirst substrate 302 and/or to portions of the elastic elements 306having the adhesive disposed thereon. As such, the elastic elements 306may be intermittently adhesively attached to the first and secondsubstrates 302 and 304 while in their expanded state. The differentadhesive patterns of elements may be used to create the differenttextures in the various texture zones (whether forming background ormacro patterns). These different texture zones may be created based onthe location and/or area of adhesive attachment of the elastic elements306 to one or more of the substrates 302 and 304. By attaching theelastic elements 306 differently in different texture zones, thenon-attached material in the substrates 302 and 304 intermediateportions of the adhesive patterns of elements may be folded or pleated(i.e., rugosity created) when the elastic elements 306 contract to theirlower or lowest energy state. The spacing between various elasticelements 306 may be the same or substantially the same and differenttexture zones may still be created. Also, by attaching the secondsubstrate 304 to the elastic elements 306 differently than theattachment of the elastic elements 306 to the first substrate 302 indifferent texture zones, the non-attached material in the secondsubstrate 304 intermediate portions of the adhesive patterns of elementsmay be folded or pleated (i.e., rugosity created) when the elasticelements 306 contract to their lower energy state. As referenced above,the elastic elements 306 may be attached to one or both of thesubstrates 302 and 304 via the adhesive patterns of elements when theyare prestrained or expanded. Upon release of the strain on the elasticelements 306 (post-adhesive attachment), the elastic elements 306 maycontract causing the non-attached material of the substrates 302 and 304to essentially form a pattern of wrinkles, buckles, pleats, folds, orrugosities in the first and second substrates 302 and 304, therebycreating the texture zones. The wrinkles, buckles, pleats, folds, orrugosities may be formed of gathered material that can accommodatelateral stretching and contraction of the belt portions 300 and 308. Thewrinkles, buckles, pleats, fold, or rugosities may be oriented alonglines that may be roughly transverse or perpendicular to the directionof lateral contraction of the elastic elements 306. In the exampleshown, the elastic elements 306 are to contract about the machinedirection. If additional texture zones are provided, more than twoadhesive patterns of elements may be applied to one or both of thesubstrates 302 and 304 in different areas of the belt portions 300 and308. In another embodiment, only one adhesive pattern of elements may beapplied to one or both of the substrates 302 and 304 and the elasticelements 306 may be attached to the elastic elements 306 differently ineach of the texture zones. In various embodiments, if the first andsecond substrates 302 and 304 have different primary fiber bond patternsor densified regions, as discussed below, one adhesive pattern ofelements may be applied to one of both of the substrates 302 and 304while still creating two or more texture zones in a belt portion.Different adhesive patterns of elements may also be applied to the firstand second substrates 302 and/or 304 having different or the sameprimary fiber bond patterns or densified regions to create two or moretexture zones in a belt portion.

As referenced above, another way to create the rugosities in the firstand second substrates 302 and 304 in various texture zones (whetherforming background or macro patterns or a single texture zone) is to usesubstrates with different primary fiber bond patterns and/or densifiedregions. In such an embodiment, the adhesive pattern of elements may bethe same, or substantially the same, or different, throughout the beltportions 300 and 308. In an embodiment, the first substrate 302 may havea first primary fiber bond pattern and the second substrate 304 may havea second primary fiber bond pattern. These first and second primaryfiber bond patterns may be the same or different. Example primary fiberbond patterns 338A and 338B are illustrated, respectively, in FIGS. 23Aand 23B on the first and second substrates 302 and 304. The patternsinclude the shape of the bonds, the size of the bonds, and/or thespacing between the bonds, for example. Those of skill in the art willrecognize that there are a plurality of primary fiber bond patternsavailable or creatable on nonwoven materials and that the presentdisclosure is not limited to the illustrated primary fiber bondpatterns. The primary fiber bonds that form the primary fiber bondpatterns are the bonds that hold the fibers of materials, such asnonwoven materials, together and provide strength and structure to thesubstrates. The primary fiber bonds that form the primary fiber bondpatterns may be thermal bonds, mechanical bonds, and/or densifiedregions for example. The elastic elements 306 (only 1 illustrated ineach of FIGS. 23A and 23B), or portions thereof, may be adhesivelyattached to the first and/or second substrates 302 and 304 at some ofthe primary fiber bond sites or at areas in the first and secondsubstrates 302 and 304 that do not have primary fiber bond sites. In anembodiment, some of the elastic elements 306 may be adhesively attachedto the first substrate 302 and others of the elastic elements 306 may beadhesively attached to the second substrate 304. Some of the elasticelements 306, or portions thereof, may be adhesively attached to boththe first and second substrates 302 and 304.

In an embodiment, referring again to FIGS. 23A and 23B, in addition toor in lieu of the primary fiber bond patterns 338A and 338B, one or bothof the first and second substrates 302 and 304 may comprise patterns ofdensified regions, such as densified regions 340A and 340B. The patternsmay include the shape of the densified regions, the size of thedensified regions, and/or the spacing between the densified regions, forexample. In an embodiment, the densified regions may also function toform primary fiber bonds in the substrates. The densified regions may beformed by calendering, embossing, heating, other mechanical or thermaldeformation, and/or densification. The densified regions may have alarger area, length dimension, and/or width dimension when compared tothe areas and length and width dimensions of the primary fiber bonds338A and 338B. In an embodiment, the densified regions, or portionsthereof, may extend transverse or perpendicular to the longitudinal axisof at least one elastic element 306. Only 1 elastic element 306 isillustrated in each of FIGS. 23A and 23B to simplify the figures. In anembodiment, the densified regions may form shapes or other indicia.Various densified regions may be continuous, substantially continuous,or discontinuous throughout their length. Some densified regions may becontinuous while others may be discontinuous, for example. The densifiedregions may be linear or nonlinear (e.g., arcuate) or may have linear ornon-linear portions and may form patterns in one or both of the firstand second substrates 302 and 304. The pattern of densified regions inthe first substrate 302 may be the same as or different than the patternof densified regions in the second substrate 304. In an embodiment,densified regions in a single substrate may also be bonded between twoor more material layers of the substrate, if the substrate is acomposite. Some example patterns of densified regions 340A and 340B areillustrated in the substrates 302 and 304 in FIGS. 23A and 23B. Thedensified regions 340A and 340B, at some locations, may intersect withthe primary fiber bonds 338A and 338B. Another pattern of densifiedregions 342 is illustrated in FIG. 24 without any additional primaryfiber bonds being present. The elastic elements 306 are shown in dash inFIG. 24 for reference. The distance between various densified regionsmay be the same or consistent or different. If they are the same orconsistent, different texture zones may still be provided by usingdifferent adhesive patterns of elements, for example. In variousembodiments, primary fiber bonds and/or densified regions may beprovided in one or both of the first and second substrates 302 and 304.In an embodiment, primary fiber bonds may be provided in the firstsubstrate 302 and densified regions may be provided in the secondsubstrate 304, for example. In various embodiments, the densifiedregions, or portions thereof, may extend in a direction generallytransverse, perpendicular, or substantially perpendicular to, thedirection of extension of the elastic elements 306.

The terms “primary fiber bond” and “densified region” each refer tobonds formed in a substrate. The primary fiber bonds and densifiedregions will each have a thickness in a direction perpendicular to aplane of the substrate in which they are formed that is less than anyareas of the substrate not comprising primary fiber bonds or densifiedregions (i.e., unbonded areas). In an embodiment, the primary fiberbonds may have the same or a different thickness as the densifiedregions. In various embodiments, the densified regions may have a largerperimeter, length (L), and/or width (w) than the primary fiber bonds.The terms “primary fiber bond pattern” and “pattern of densifiedregions” refer to a pattern of primary fiber bonds or a pattern ofdensified regions, respectively, imparted to a substrate. The term“bond” refers to a distinct location, on a bonded fibrous substrate, atwhich the fibers or filaments of the substrate are substantially moreinterconnected, when compared with the fibers or filaments of theunbonded areas of the substrate. The term “bond perimeter” refers to theoutermost edge of the bond (either a primary fiber bond or a densifiedregion) that defines the boundary between the primary fiber bond ordensified region and the surrounding unbounded or undensified area. Asdiscussed below, the perimeter may be measured by measuring the sides ofthe bonds and then taking the sum of those sides.

A primary fiber bond pattern and a pattern of densified regions may beimparted to a fibrous web in various ways, such as by using heat,pressure, ultrasonic bonding, adhesives, or other bonding techniquesknown to those of skill in the art, or combinations of any of these. Forexample, a fibrous substrate may be bonded by passing the fibroussubstrate through a nip formed by a heated calender roll (with aplurality of raised lands) and another roll, such that the lands formprimary fiber bonds or densified regions on the fibrous substrate.

Referring to FIGS. 25A and 25B, an example of a densified region 340A(FIG. 25A) and a primary fiber bond 338B (FIG. 25B) each having a length(L) and a width (W) are illustrated. Unbonded areas (U) are also shown.The length (L) is measured linearly, from one end of the primary fiberbond or densified region to the other end of the primary fiber bond ordensified region in the X or Y direction of the Cartesian coordinatesystem. The length (L) forms the primary fiber bond's or densifiedregion's longest dimension regardless of whether it is in the X or Ydirection. The width (W) is measured linearly from one side of theprimary fiber bond or densified region to the other side of the primaryfiber bond or densified region. The width is measured about the Y or Xdirection (in the opposite direction of how the length (L) was measured)perpendicular to the length (L). If the primary fiber bond or densifiedregion forms a circle, the width (W) will be equal to the length (L).

In various embodiments, each of the densified regions, no matter whatconfiguration they take on may have a perimeter and an area. In anembodiment, each of the densified regions may have a perimeter ofgreater than about 1 mm, greater than about 2 mm, greater than about 3mm, greater than about 4 mm, or greater than about 5 mm. In otherembodiments, the perimeter of the densified regions may be in the rangeof about 1 mm to about 100 mm, or alternatively about 1 mm to about 50mm, specifically reciting all 0.1 mm increments within the specifiedranges and all ranges formed therein or thereby. The perimeter can bemeasured by measuring each of the sides of the densified regions andtaking the sum of those sides. In an embodiment, each of the densifiedregions may have an area greater than about 2 mm², greater than about 4mm², greater than about 5 mm², greater than about 6 mm², or greater thanabout 7 mm². In other embodiments, the area of the densified regions maybe in the range of about 0.5 mm² to about 150 mm², or alternativelyabout 2 mm² to about 100 mm², specifically reciting all 0.1 mm²increments within the specified ranges and all ranges formed therein orthereby. The perimeter and area of each of the densified regions may begreater than the perimeter and area of the each of the primary fiberbonds. In various embodiments, the densified regions may each have aminimum dimension or narrowest dimension that is about 0.5 mm,alternatively in the range of about 0.5 mm to about 20 mm, specificallyreciting all 0.1 mm increments within that range and all ranges formedtherein. The densified regions may each have a longest dimension of 0.5mm to about 30 mm, specifically reciting all 0.1 mm increments withinthat range and all ranges formed therein. The densified regions in asubstrate may have the same dimensions or may have different dimensions.If the densified regions are continuous, the length in the maximumdimension of the densified regions may be assumed equal to the samplesize measured. A suggested sample size is 25 mm in length. Alldimensions discussed herein may be measured by hand, using a measuringtape, or by using a measuring machine. Furthermore, the densifiedregions in one substrate of a laminate may be the same as or differentthan the densified regions in the second substrate of the laminate. Inother embodiments, only one substrate of a laminate may have densifiedregions.

In various embodiments, the densified regions may each have an aspectratio. The aspect ratio is the ratio of the densified region's length atits longest point to its width at its widest point. In variousembodiments, a densified region has a length, L and a width, W. Theaspect ratio of the densified region is L/W. The length and width of adensified region may be measured by hand, using a measuring tape, or byusing a measuring machine. As some examples, the aspect ratio ofdensified regions of the present disclosure may be 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7,8, in the range of about 2 to about 100, or in the range of about 2 toabout 200, specifically reciting all 0.1 increments within those rangesand all ranges formed therein or thereby.

The pattern of densified regions or primary fiber bonds and theirpositioning throughout one or both of the substrates 302 and 304 maydictate what texture or range of rugosities a particular texture zone,forming either a background pattern or a macro pattern, may have. Thetype of texture or range of rugosities in a particular texture zone mayalso be a result of a combination of two of the pattern of densifiedregions in one or more of the substrates, the pattern of primary fiberbonds in one or more of the substrates, and the adhesive pattern withina particular texture zone.

In an embodiment, a method of making a belt portion comprising one ormore texture zones (e.g., one, two, three, four etc.) is disclosed. Thetexture zones may form background patterns or macro patterns in the beltportion. The belt portion may comprise a plurality of elastic elementsor elastic stands disposed between a first substrate, or a firstnonwoven substrate, and a second substrate, or a second nonwovensubstrate. The substrates may also be formed by other materials asdiscussed herein. The method may comprise applying an adhesive to thefirst substrate in a first pattern of elements and in at least a secondpattern of elements. The first pattern of elements may be positioned ona first area of the first substrate and the second pattern of elementsmay be positioned on a second area of the first substrate. In anembodiment, the patterns may not overlap, while in other embodiments,the patterns may overlap or intersect. The elements in the adhesivepatterns of elements may be discrete elements, non-linear elements,and/or linear elements. The adhesive may be applied to the firstsubstrate by intermittently compressing the first substrate between aslot die applicator and a substrate carrier comprising a plurality ofraised members, for example. A first portion of the raised members maybe situated in the first pattern of elements, while a second portion ofthe raised members may be situated in the second pattern of elements.The method may also comprise adhesively attaching portions of theelastic elements to the first substrate using the elements. The elasticelements may be applied to the first substrate when they are in theirstretched or expanded state and then allowed to contract into anon-expanded or partially expanded state to, in part, create the varioustexture zones in the first substrate. In other embodiments, the adhesivemay be applied to the elastic elements in the first and second patternsof elements and then the elastic elements, in their stretched orexpanded state, may be applied to the first and/or second substrates andthen allowed to contract into a non-expanded or partially expanded statethereby creating, in part, the various texture zones in the firstsubstrate. The method may also comprise attaching the second substrateto the first substrate and/or to portions of at least some of theelastic elements. This attachment may be made by bonding portions of thefirst substrate to portions of the second substrate and/or by attachingportions of at least some of the elastic elements to both the first andsecond substrates. The first and second patterns of elements may, inpart, form two, different texture zones in the first and secondsubstrates. The first pattern of elements may form the first texturezone forming a background pattern and the second pattern of elements mayform the second texture zone forming a macro pattern. The first texturezone forming the background pattern may have rugosities having a firstfrequency and/or amplitude range and the second texture zone forming themacro pattern may have rugosities having a second, different frequencyand/or amplitude range. If additional different texture zones aredesired, more than two adhesive patterns of elements may be applied tothe elastic elements or to the first or second substrates.

In an embodiment, another method for making a belt portion comprisingone or more texture zones is disclosed. A first texture zone may form abackground pattern and a second texture zone may form a macro pattern inthe belt portion. The belt portion may comprise one or more elasticelements or elastic stands disposed between a first substrate and asecond substrate. The method may comprise applying an adhesive to thefirst substrate by intermittently compressing the first substratebetween a slot die applicator and a substrate carrier. The substratecarrier may comprise a plurality of raised elements situated in apattern and the adhesive may be applied to the first substrate in thepattern. The substrate carrier may be an endless belt or a roller. Theadhesive may be applied to the first substrate in a first pattern ofelements and in a second pattern of elements. The first pattern ofelements may be positioned on a first area of the first substrate andthe second pattern of elements may be positioned on a second area of thefirst substrate. In an embodiment, the patterns may not overlap, whilein other embodiments, the patterns may overlap or intersect. Theelements may be discrete elements, non-linear elements, and/or linearelements. The method may also comprise engaging portions of at leastsome of the elastic elements with the adhesive when the elastic elementsare in their stretched or expanded state. The method may also compriseattaching the second substrate to the first substrate and/or to the oneor more elastic elements. After the elastic elements are adhesivelyattached to the first and/or second substrates, the elastic elements areallowed to relax or contract, thereby creating texture zones (formingbackground and macro patterns) in the first and/or second substrates.The first pattern of elements may be associated with a first texturezone forming a background pattern and a second pattern of elements maybe associated with a second texture zone forming a macro pattern in thefirst and/or second substrates. A first texture zone may have rugositieshaving a first frequency and/or amplitude range and a second texturezone may have rugosities having a second, different frequency and/oramplitude range. If additional different texture zones are desired, morethan two adhesive patterns of elements may be applied to the elasticelements or to the first or second substrates.

In an embodiment, a belt portion may comprise a first adhesive patternof elements adhesively engaging a first portion of one or more elasticelements in a first texture zone forming a background pattern in thebelt portion and a second adhesive pattern of elements adhesivelyengaging a second portion of the one or more elastic elements in asecond texture zone forming a macro pattern. The first adhesive patternof elements may be the same as or different than the second adhesivepattern of elements. If the first adhesive pattern of elements is thesame as, or substantially the same as, the second adhesive pattern ofelements, a first pattern of primary fiber bonds and/or densifiedregions in a first substrate of a belt portion may be different than asecond pattern primary fiber bonds and/or densified regions in a secondsubstrate of the belt portion. In other embodiments, still with theadhesive patterns of elements being the same, or substantially the same,one of the substrates may have a first pattern of primary fiber bondsand/or densified regions and a second pattern of primary fiber bondsand/or densified regions formed therein. The first pattern of primaryfiber bonds and/or densified regions may be different than the secondpattern of primary fiber bonds and/or densified regions. If the firstadhesive pattern of elements is different than the second adhesivepattern of elements, a first pattern of primary fiber bonds and/ordensified regions in a first substrate of a belt portion may be the sameas, or substantially the same as, a second pattern of primary fiberbonds and/or densified regions in a second substrate of the beltportion. Also, still with different adhesive patterns of elements, afirst pattern of primary fiber bonds and/or densified regions in a firstsubstrate of a belt portion may be different than a second pattern ofprimary fiber bonds and/or densified regions in a second substrate ofthe belt portion. Furthermore, still with different adhesive patterns ofelements, one of the substrates may have a first pattern of primaryfiber bond and/or densified regions and a second, different pattern ofprimary fiber bonds and/or densified regions. In an embodiment, thedensified regions may act as primary fiber bonds and additional primaryfiber bonds may not need to be required.

In an embodiment, a belt portion may comprise a first substrate, asecond substrate, and at least a third substrate. One or more elasticelements may be positioned intermediate any or all of the substrates mayform at least one or two texture zones on at least one of the outersubstrates of the structure or throughout the entire structure.

In an embodiment, referring generally to FIG. 17 as an example, anabsorbent article may comprise a chassis comprising a topsheet, abacksheet, and a core disposed intermediate the topsheet and thebacksheet. The absorbent article may comprise two belt portionsextending from the chassis. Each of the belt portions may comprise afirst substrate, a second substrate, and one or more elastic elementsdisposed intermediate the first substrate and the second substrate.Portions of the elastic elements may be joined to the first substrate.The second substrate may be joined to the first substrate or to portionsof the elastic elements. The belt portion may also comprise a firsttexture zone comprising a plurality of rugosities formed in the firstsubstrate. The plurality of the rugosities may have a first frequencyrange. The first texture zone may form a background pattern in the beltportion. The belt portion may also comprise a second texture zonecomprising a plurality of rugosities formed in the first substrate. Theplurality of the rugosities may have a second, different frequencyrange. The second texture zone may form a macro pattern in the beltportion. The absorbent article of FIG. 17 may provide many benefits overrelated art absorbent articles such as not using additional substratesto form texture zones, providing an improved fit and comfortable feel,having an aesthetically pleasing appearance, and more closely resemblingclothing or underwear, without adding cost, or significant cost, to theabsorbent article and its manufacturing process.

In an embodiment, an absorbent article may comprise a chassis comprisinga topsheet, a backsheet, and a core disposed at least partiallyintermediate the topsheet and the backsheet. The absorbent article maycomprise one or two belt portions extending from the chassis. The beltportions may each comprise an elasticized portion having a texture ratioin the range of about 5 to about 20 or about 5 to about 25 (or othertexture ratios specified herein). The elasticized portion may form asingle uniform texture. The absorbent article comprises a longitudinalaxis. The single uniform texture may be linear or nonlinear in adirection parallel to the longitudinal axis. The elasticized portion maycomprise two or more substrates or two or more nonwoven substrates thatare adhesively or otherwise joined to each other. The total basis weightof the belt portion may be in the range of 20 gsm to 100 gsm, 25 gsm to90 gsm, 35 gsm to 70 gsm, or 40 gsm to 60 gsm, measured according to theBasis Weight Method described below, specifically reciting all 0.5 gsmincrements within the specified ranges and all ranges formed therein orthereby.

In an embodiment, an absorbent article may comprise a chassis comprisinga topsheet, a backsheet, and a core disposed at least partiallyintermediate the topsheet and the backsheet. The absorbent article maycomprise one or more belt portions extending from the chassis. The beltportions may each comprise a first substrate, a second substrate joinedto the first substrate, and a plurality of elongate elastic elementsdisposed between the first substrate and the second substrate. The beltportions may each comprise one or more texture zones each having atexture ratio of greater than 5 and less than 25 (and other textureratios recited herein). The distance intermediate each of the elasticelements may be at least 4 mm and less than 35 mm (or other distancesspecified herein). The elongate elastic elements may be adhesivelyjoined, or otherwise joined, to portions of the first substrate or toportions of the second substrate.

Densified Region Measurement Method

Dimensional measurements are performed on images generated using a flatbed scanner capable of scanning at a resolution of at least 2400 dpi inreflectance mode (a suitable scanner is the Epson Perfection V750 Pro,Epson, USA). Analyses are performed using ImageJ software (NationalInstitutes of Health, USA) or equivalent image analysis software, andcalibrated against a certified NIST ruler. The samples arepreconditioned at about 23° C.±2° C. and about 50%±2% relative humidityfor 2 hours prior to testing.

To obtain the specimen, carefully remove the laminate from thegarment-facing surface of the absorbent article. Then, extend thelaminate to remove the rugosity, cut a square 35 mm by 35 mm from thelaminate, and mount the laminate on an opaque black backing with thewearer-facing surface facing toward the backing.

Set the scanner to acquire an 8 bit grayscale image at 2400 dpi inreflectance mode. Place the mounted specimens on the flat bed scanner,garment-facing surface facing downward. Place the ruler directlyadjacent to the specimen. Close the scanner's cover and acquire and savean image composed of the laminate specimen and the ruler. Open the imagefile in the ImageJ software and perform a linear calibration using theimaged ruler.

Dimensional measurements are made in triplicate at random sites on eachspecimen from corresponding sites on three identical absorbent articles.The nine values are averaged and reported to the nearest 0.01.

Not being bound by the specific densified region, FIG. 25A is referencedas an example to illustrate the following dimension measurements. Thesemeasures are equally applicable to other densified shapes and patterns.

Length (L):

The densified region has a profile with a greatest measurable length(i.e., longest portion of the densified region). Identify a shape lengthline formed from two points on the profile that are farthest apart alongthe longitudinal length. Draw a line through the profile using thesepoints. With the measuring tool, measure the length along the linesegment between the farthest-most points on the profile to the nearest0.01 mm.

Width (W):

The densified region has a profile with a greatest measurable width(i.e., widest portion of the densified region). Draw two lines, parallelto the shape length line described above, which are tangent to theprofile at one or more outermost points that are most distant from theshape length line. With the measuring tool, measure the width betweenthe two tangent lines along a line segment perpendicular to the shapelength line to the nearest 0.01 mm.

Aspect Ratio:

The aspect ratio of the densified region is the ratio of the greatestmeasurable length, L, divided by the greatest measurable width, W.Report the aspect ratio to the nearest 0.01 mm.

Perimeter Length (P):

The perimeter of the densified region or bond site can be measured usingthe freehand selection tool to manually trace the perimeter. Report theperimeter length to the nearest 0.01 mm.

Basis Weight Method

Remove the belt portion from the absorbent article using freeze spray orsuitable method to avoid damaging the substrates of the belt portion. Ifthe absorbent article is a pant, cut the belt along the longitudinalaxis of the seams areas to separate the belt into front and back beltportions and lay each belt portion flat on a horizontal bench. For eachbelt portion, execute the following steps:

Secure the cut belt portion to the bench with tape along one edge of thecut belt portion. The selected edge should extend in a directionperpendicular to or transverse to the longest dimension of therugosities.

Extend the cut belt portion to remove the rugosities and secure the edgeopposing the taped edge to the horizontal bench with tape.

Measure the longitudinal and lateral dimensions of the cut belt portionwith a ruler calibrated against a certified NIST ruler and accurate to0.5 mm. Report the dimensions to the nearest 0.5 mm.

Use the longitudinal and lateral dimensions of each belt portion tocalculate the area of the belt portion in square meters to the nearest0.000001 m2.

Measure the mass of the same cut belt portion in grams using a scaleaccurate to 0.01 g.

Divide the measured mass of the cut belt portion by the calculated areaof the cut belt portion.

Repeat this method for 10 absorbent articles having belt portions,taking the samples from the same location on each belt portion of eachabsorbent article.

Report the average of the 10 samples for each front and back beltportions, if applicable, to the nearest 0.1 g/square meter to obtain thebasis weight of a belt portion.

Rugosity Length, Rugosity Frequency, Rugosity Amplitude, Elastic ElementSpacing, and Texture Ratio Method

Rugosity length (mm) and rugosity amplitude measurements are taken bylight microscopy with image analysis. A suitable instrument is a HIROXMicroscope (Model KH7700) fitted with Adapter OL-35 and lens MXG 10-C orequivalent. An external white light source is used. Images are acquiredand analyzed with HIROX software (Version 2.10C) or equivalent 3D imageanalysis software. The sample is preconditioned at 23° C.±2° C. and50%±2% relative humidity for 2 hours prior to testing.

To obtain a specimen, carefully remove a belt portion from an absorbentarticle using freeze spray or other suitable method to avoid damagingthe substrates of the belt portion. Cut three squares from a singletexture zone in the belt portion with each side of the squares equal to35 mm using scissors or other suitable cutting instrument. If three 35mm×35 mm squares are not available in a single texture zone, cutadditional squares from other identical belt portions from otheridentical absorbent articles. If a front belt portion is used to obtainthe first specimen, front belt portions should also be used to obtainthe second and third specimens. The same applies to rear belt portions.The squares are cut with two sides parallel to the machine direction andwith two sides parallel to the cross direction of the belt portion, asthe belt portion is situated on the absorbent article.

Mount the specimen on a microscope stage of a microscope with thegarment-facing surface facing away from the microscope stage. Center thesample on the stage. Turn on the external white light source and focusthe image, noting the lower rugosity surface location (bottom of thetroughs on the garment facing surface) and the upper rugosity surfacelocation (peaks on the garment-facing surface) to create a threedimensional rendering of the image in the software. Acquire and save theimage. Use the measurement tool in the image analysis software toobserve the profile at a location midway between 2 elastic elements.Measure the length between rugosity peaks (on rugosities havingamplitudes greater than 0.25 mm) (3 measurements per specimen). Theselength measurements are made in triplicate at random sites on the firstspecimen and from corresponding sites on the other two specimens. Thenine length values are averaged and reported to the nearest 0.001 cm asthe Average Rugosity Length. Save the image and measurements and retainthe specimens.

Average Rugosity Amplitude is measured using the image analysissoftware. The amplitude is the vertical distance between a rugosity peakand an adjacent rugosity trough. Use the measurement tool in the imageanalysis software to observe the profile at a location midway between 2elastic elements. Measure the vertical (Z-direction) length between arugosity peak and adjacent rugosity trough (3 measurements perspecimen). These amplitude measurements are made in triplicate at thesame sites as in the Rugosity Length measurement on the first specimenand from corresponding sites on the other two specimens. The ninerugosity amplitude values are averaged and reported to the nearest tothe nearest 0.0001 cm as the Average Rugosity Amplitude.

Rugosity Frequency is defined as the number of rugosities per cm. TheAverage Rugosity Frequency is calculated by taking the inverse of theAverage Rugosity Length and reporting to the nearest 0.1 rugosities/cm.

Using a ruler calibrated against a certified NIST ruler and accurate to0.5 mm, measure the distance between elastic elements corresponding tothe locations of the rugosities measured in the specimen. Measure atleast three elastic element spacings per specimen and repeat over thethree specimens. Average the 9 values to obtain the Average ElasticElement Spacing (cm) and report to the nearest 0.01 cm.

Divide the Average Elastic Element Spacing (cm) by the Average RugosityLength (cm) to calculate the “Texture Ratio” and report the TextureRatio to the nearest 0.1.

EXAMPLE

In a non-limiting example embodiment, a belt portion of the presentdisclosure uses a first substrate of about 10 gsm nonwoven materialsupplied by Avgol, Israel, under the trade name XY-S70-26. A secondsubstrate for the belt portion uses a 45 gsm nonwoven material suppliedby Mitsui, Japan, under the trade name NW8019.000. Elastic strands witha linear density of about 680 decitex supplied by Hyosung, Korea, underthe brand name Creora, are adhesive attached to the first substrateusing H2401 adhesive by Bostik, Wis., USA. A first texture zone forminga background pattern is created in the belt portion of the absorbentarticle by spacing the elastic strands about 7 mm apart and by using aNordson Universal glue applicator and Nordson sure-wrap glue nozzlesprior to combining the first and second substrates. A second texturezone forming a macro pattern is created in the belt portion of theabsorbent article by applying H2401 adhesive to the second substrateusing about 5 mm diameter dots of adhesive as illustrated FIG. 22E priorto combining the first and second substrates. These background (334) andmacro (336) patterns result in the texture illustrated in FIG. 17 andthe texture of the white portion of FIG. 18.

Comparative Texture Ratio Examples

Using the Rugosity Length, Rugosity Frequency, Rugosity Amplitude,Elastic Element Spacing, and Texture Ratio Method, various texture zonesof competitive absorbent articles and the absorbent articles of thepresent disclosure were tested, as illustrated in Chart 1 below. Ingeneral, the competitive absorbent articles had a uniform texture in thefront and the back. In some competitive absorbent articles, the frontwas used and in other competitive absorbent articles the back was used.If the front/back was used, it was used for the entire test of thatparticular competitive absorbent article.

Chart 1

Elastic Rugosity Element Length Spacing Manu- Average Average TextureProduct Size facturer (cm) (cm) Ratio Mamy Poko- 4 Unicharm 0.14 0.634.6 Waist Band Mamy Poko- 4 Unicharm 0.18 0.8 4.5 Belt Portion KaoRelief- Small (Adult Kao 0.16 0.45 2.8 Barrier Leg Incontinence CuffProduct) Walgreens- 4 First 0.20 0.7 3.6 Belt Portion Quality Moony-Belt4 Unicharm 0.28 0.5 1.7 Portion Merries-Belt 4 Kao 0.24 0.5 2.1 PortinoLibero-Waist 4 SCA 0.18 0.5 2.8 Band Huggies-Side 4 Kimberly 0.10 0.33.0 Panel Clark Present 4 NA 0.12 0.7 6.0 Disclosure- Belt Portion

Samples of the texture zones of the present disclosure exhibited atexture ratio of 6.0 using the Rugosity Length, Rugosity Frequency,Rugosity Amplitude, Elastic Element Spacing, and Texture Ratio Method.The highest texture ratio found in the texture zones of the testedcompetitive absorbent articles was only 4.6, with most competitiveabsorbent articles falling significantly below the texture ratio of 4.6.FIGS. 26 and 27 illustrate graphs of the texture ratios of texture zonesof the tested competitive absorbent articles compared to the textureratios of texture zones of the absorbent articles of the presentdisclosure. FIG. 26 illustrates a graph of Average Rugosity Length (cm)along the x-axis compared to Average Elastic Spacing (cm) along they-axis. FIG. 27 illustrates another graph of the texture ratios oftexture zones of the tested competitive absorbent articles compared tothe texture ratios of the texture zones of the absorbent articles of thepresent disclosure. As can be seen, the texture ratios of the texturezones belt portions of the absorbent articles of the present disclosureare higher than the tested competitive absorbent articles, whichprovides the absorbent articles of the present disclosure with animproved fit, a comfortable feel, an aesthetically pleasing appearance,and a product that more closely resembles clothing or underwear withoutadding cost, or significant cost, to absorbent article manufacturing. Anexample texture zone having a texture ratio of around 6.0 is illustratedin FIG. 20A, for example.

The dimensions and values disclosed herein are not to be understood asbeing strictly limited to the exact numerical values recited. Instead,unless otherwise specified, each such dimension is intended to mean boththe recited value and a functionally equivalent range surrounding thatvalue. For example, a dimension disclosed as “40 mm” is intended to mean“about 40 mm.”

Every document cited herein, including any cross referenced or relatedpatent or application, is hereby incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety unless expressly excluded or otherwise limited. The citation ofany document is not an admission that it is prior art with respect toany invention disclosed or claimed herein or that it alone, or in anycombination with any other reference or references, teaches, suggests ordiscloses any such invention. Further, to the extent that any meaning ordefinition of a term in this document conflicts with any meaning ordefinition of the same term in a document incorporated by reference, themeaning or definition assigned to that term in this document shallgovern.

While particular embodiments of the present disclosure have beenillustrated and described, those of skill in the art will recognize thatvarious other changes and modifications can be made without departingfrom the spirit and scope of the invention. It is therefore intended tocover in the appended claims all such changes and modifications that arewithin the scope of this invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. An absorbent article comprising: a chassis comprising: a topsheet; a backsheet; and a core disposed at least partially intermediate the topsheet and the backsheet; and a belt portion extending from the chassis, the belt portion comprising: a first substrate; a second substrate; one or more elastic elements disposed at least partially intermediate the first substrate and the second substrate, wherein portions of the elastic elements are joined to the first substrate, and wherein the second substrate is joined to the first substrate or to portions of the elastic elements; a continuous texture grid comprising a first plurality of rugosities formed in the first substrate, wherein the first plurality of the rugosities have a first frequency range, and wherein the first plurality of rugosities have a minimum amplitude of 1 mm; and a plurality of discrete texture areas each comprising a second plurality of rugosities formed in the first substrate, wherein the second plurality of the rugosities have a second, different frequency range, wherein a first frequency in the first frequency range is at least two times different than a second frequency in the second, different frequency range, and wherein the second plurality of the rugosities have a minimum amplitude of 1 mm; wherein the plurality of discrete texture areas are positioned within the continuous texture grid.
 2. The absorbent article of claim 1, wherein the first substrate comprises a first nonwoven substrate, wherein the second substrate comprises a second nonwoven substrate, and wherein the elastic elements comprise elastic strands.
 3. The absorbent article of claim 1, wherein the belt portion comprises: a first adhesive pattern of elements on the first substrate and adhesively engaging a first portion of the one or more elastic elements; and a second adhesive pattern of elements on the second substrate and adhesively engaging a second portion of the one or more elastic elements.
 4. The absorbent article of claim 3, wherein the first adhesive pattern of elements is the same as the second adhesive pattern of elements.
 5. The absorbent article of claim 4, wherein a first pattern of densified regions in the first substrate is different than a second pattern of densified regions in the second substrate.
 6. The absorbent article of claim 4, wherein one of the substrates has a first pattern of densified regions and a second pattern of densified regions formed therein, and wherein the first pattern of densified regions is different than the second pattern of densified regions.
 7. The absorbent article of claim 3, wherein the first adhesive pattern of elements is different than the second adhesive pattern of elements.
 8. The absorbent article of claim 7, wherein a first pattern of densified regions in the first substrate is substantially the same as a second pattern of densified regions in the second substrate.
 9. The absorbent article of claim 7, wherein a first pattern of densified regions in the first substrate is different than a second pattern of densified regions in the second substrate.
 10. The absorbent article of claim 7, wherein one of the substrates has a first pattern of densified regions and a second pattern of densified regions, and wherein the first pattern of densified regions is different than the second pattern of densified regions.
 11. The absorbent article of claim 3, wherein the first adhesive pattern of elements comprises elements having a first size or shape, and wherein the second adhesive pattern of elements comprises elements having a second, different size or shape.
 12. The absorbent article of claim 1, wherein the continuous texture grid extends in a first direction and in a second, different direction, and wherein the plurality of discrete texture areas each form substantially the same polygonal shape.
 13. The absorbent article of claim 1, wherein an amplitude range of the first plurality of the rugosities of the continuous texture grid is different than an amplitude range of the second plurality of the rugosities of the plurality of discrete texture areas.
 14. The absorbent article of claim 1, wherein the belt portion is a front belt portion, comprising a rear belt portion extending from the chassis, and wherein the rear belt portion is longitudinally opposed to the front belt portion, the rear belt portion comprising: a first substrate; a second substrate; one or more elastic elements disposed intermediate the first substrate and the second substrate, wherein portions of the elastic elements are joined to the first substrate, and wherein the second substrate is joined to the first substrate or to portions of the elastic elements; a continuous texture grid comprising a third plurality of rugosities formed in the first substrate, wherein the third plurality of the rugosities have a first frequency range; and a plurality of discrete texture areas each comprising a fourth plurality of rugosities formed in the first substrate, wherein the fourth plurality of the rugosities have a second, different frequency range.
 15. The absorbent article of claim 14, wherein portions of the front belt portion are permanently or releasably joined to portions of the rear belt portion to form a pant having a waist opening and two leg openings.
 16. The absorbent article of claim 14, wherein portions of the rear belt portion are configured to be joined to portions of the front belt portion using fasteners to form an absorbent article having a waist opening and two leg openings.
 17. The absorbent article of claim 1, wherein the belt portion comprises an adhesive forming a continuous pattern, wherein the continuous pattern extends in a first direction and in a second, different direction, and wherein lines of the continuous pattern of the adhesive extending in the first direction intersect with lines of the continuous pattern of the adhesive extending in the second, different direction.
 18. The absorbent article of claim 17, wherein the plurality of discrete texture areas are free of the continuous pattern of the adhesive.
 19. The absorbent article of claim 1, wherein at least some of the plurality of discrete texture areas form a diamond-like shape.
 20. The absorbent article of claim 1, wherein the second substrate within at least a portion of the first and second plurality of rugosities is nested with the first substrate.
 21. The absorbent article of claim 1, wherein the plurality of discrete texture areas are dispersed throughout the entire continuous texture grid.
 22. An absorbent article comprising: a core; a first substrate; a second substrate; one or more elastic elements disposed at least partially intermediate the first substrate and the second substrate, wherein the second substrate is attached to any of the first substrate and portions of one or more of the elastic elements; an adhesive forming a continuous pattern disposed on the first substrate, wherein the continuous pattern is uninterrupted; a continuous texture grid comprising a first portion of the substrates, a first portion of the one or more elastic elements, and the continuous pattern of the adhesive; and a plurality of discrete texture areas each comprising a second portion of the substrates, a second portion of the one or more elastic elements, and being free of the continuous pattern of the adhesive; wherein the continuous texture grid surrounds at least some of the plurality of discrete texture areas.
 23. The absorbent article of claim 22, wherein the continuous texture grid has a first frequency range and amplitude range of a first plurality of rugosities in the first portion of the substrates, wherein the plurality of discrete texture areas have a second frequency range and amplitude range of a second plurality of rugosities in the second portion of the substrates, wherein the first frequency range is different than the second frequency range, wherein the first amplitude range is different than the second amplitude range, and wherein a first frequency in the first frequency range is at least two times different than a second frequency in the second frequency range.
 24. The absorbent article of claim 22, wherein the one or more elastic elements comprise a plurality of elastic strands, wherein the elastic strands are intermittently bonded to at least one of the substrates, and wherein any of the continuous texture grid and the plurality of discrete texture areas are configured to indicate the appropriate orientation of the absorbent article on a lower torso of a wearer.
 25. The absorbent article of claim 22, comprising a topsheet and a backsheet, wherein the core is disposed at least partially intermediate the topsheet and the backsheet, wherein the backsheet is positioned adjacent to a portion of the continuous texture grid or the plurality of discrete texture areas, wherein the continuous texture grid has a first texture, wherein the plurality of discrete texture areas have a second texture, wherein the backsheet has a third texture, and wherein the first texture, the second texture, and the third texture are all different.
 26. The absorbent article of claim 22, wherein the continuous texture grid forms a repeating diamond pattern in which the discrete texture areas are positioned.
 27. An absorbent article comprising: a chassis comprising: a topsheet; a backsheet; and a core disposed at least partially intermediate the topsheet and the backsheet; and a belt portion extending from the chassis, the belt portion comprising: a first substrate; a second substrate; an adhesive forming a continuous, uninterrupted grid that extends in a first direction and in a second, different direction; one or more elastic elements disposed at least partially intermediate the first substrate and the second substrate, wherein portions of the elastic elements are joined to the first substrate, and wherein the second substrate is joined to the first substrate or to portions of the elastic elements; a continuous texture grid comprising a first plurality of rugosities formed in the first substrate, wherein the first plurality of the rugosities have a first frequency range, and wherein the first plurality of rugosities have a minimum amplitude of 1 mm; and a plurality of discrete texture areas each comprising a second plurality of rugosities formed in the first substrate, wherein at least some of the plurality of discrete texture areas form a polygonal shape, wherein the second plurality of the rugosities have a second, different frequency range, wherein a first frequency in the first frequency range is at least two times different than a second frequency in the second, different frequency range, and wherein the second plurality of rugosities have a minimum amplitude of 1 mm; wherein the plurality of discrete texture areas are positioned within the continuous texture grid.
 28. The absorbent article of claim 27, wherein the plurality of discrete texture areas are free of the continuous, uninterrupted grid of the adhesive.
 29. The absorbent article of claim 27, wherein at least some of the plurality of discrete texture areas form diamond-shaped areas.
 30. The absorbent article of claim 27, wherein lines of the continuous, uninterrupted grid of the adhesive extending in the first direction cross lines of the continuous, uninterrupted grid of the adhesive extending in the second, different direction. 